Why doesn’t Whatcom County use letter-grades for food inspections? Here’s what they said
Have you ever noticed that your favorite local restaurants don’t have letter grades posted on their windows? That’s because the Whatcom County Health Department conducts food inspections a little differently than other places.
The Whatcom County Health Department is responsible for inspecting retail food establishments such as restaurants, food trucks, taverns, grocery stores, caterers, vendors and coffee shops, according to the department’s website. Local health departments are not responsible for inspecting farms, tribal facilities, hospitals, childcare centers, processing plants and other non-retail food establishments.
“Our goal in food establishment inspections is always to ensure the health and safety of the people who consume the food,” Marie Duckworth, communications specialist at Whatcom County Health and Community Services wrote in an email to The Bellingham Herald.
How restaurant inspections work
During an inspection, the health department looks for any health code violations that could put customers’ or workers’ health at risk. High-risk violations are violations that can cause foodborne illness, such as not cooking meat correctly, not storing food correctly and worker health and hygiene practices. Low-risk violations are violations related to maintenance and sanitation.
Food establishments are inspected at least once per year in accordance to state law, according to the department’s website.
Whatcom inspection results
Inspectors record any violations and give the restaurant a report of its results. The Whatcom County Health Department has four types of inspection results: approved, follow-up required, re-inspection required and permit suspension.
▪ An approved result means the establishment had zero or very few violations and is allowed to operate.
▪ If a follow-up is required, the establishment had some violations that must be corrected right away as an inspector will check in with the establishment within 60 days.
▪ If a re-inspection is required, the establishment had many high-risk or repeat violations that must be corrected immediately as an inspector will re-inspect the space within 60 days.
▪ If a permit is suspended, the establishment is ordered to close temporarily, immediately after its inspection because there were “severe health hazards” or repeat violations. If a permit is suspended, the establishment’s operator must attend a hearing and correct violations, as well as pass a re-inspection in order for the permit to be reinstated.
Whatcom County Health Department re-inspections and follow-ups are unannounced to establishment operators.
Establishments are required to post inspection results in their establishments, as part of the Washington State food code. All inspection results are public records that can be accessed online through the Whatcom County Health Department’s website.
But why doesn’t Whatcom County Health Department have a letter grading system?
“The restaurant grading system using letters does not necessarily make patrons safer. It can, however, cause public humiliation to restaurant owners. We have evaluated multiple programs that use the letter grading system, and we do not believe that letter grades improve compliance with food safety regulations,” Duckworth wrote.
Another Washington county, King, has implemented food safety ratings like the letter-grade system, with a positive approach that may avoid any humiliation while also taking into account the past four inspections.
“Restaurants now receive one of four food safety ratings to provide the public with more information about the level of a restaurant’s food safety practices, helping them make informed decisions about eating out,” the county’s website states.
The county gives food establishments one of four ratings: needs to improve, okay, good and excellent, which are all required to be posted in an establishment’s window for customers to easily see.
An excellent rating means the establishment has had zero or few critical violations over the last four inspections. A good rating means the establishment has had some criminal violations over the last four inspections. An okay rating means there have been many critical violations over the last four inspections, and a need to improve rating means the restaurant was either closed by the health department or the restaurant needs multiple inspections to fix food safety practices.
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