"sanitary grades" news and stories

Restaurants in New York are rated on numerous scales: Zagat rates their restaurants on a 30-point scale, both the New York Times and Michelin wows us with their stars, websites such as Yelp.com and OpenTable.com offer up customer reviews and ratings, and Urban Spoon offers up all of the critics views in one place, along with blog posts and user-generated comments.

While all of these sources help consumers find the tastiest restaurants, the city has launched a grading program to help you find the safest places to eat. Mayor Bloomberg, State Senator Klein and Health Commissioner Frieden announced on Friday that New York City is updating its restaurant inspection system to improve sanitary conditions and give consumers more information. Under the new model, the Health Department will increase inspections for less sanitary restaurants and require all establishments to post letter grades; A, B, C are passing grades and will be phased in over the next two years.

According to a press release, "Food related illness is a source of growing public concern. Complaints about food-borne illness have increased in recent years, and rodent infestations are a common problem in restaurants."

So will this work? When Los Angeles County enacted the letter grading system back in 1998, only 40 percent of its restaurants received "A" grades. By 2006, 83 percent were meeting the standard. I have faith -- it will take some time, but restaurants and consumers alike will benefit.