The letter grade system for reporting restaurant inspection results most associated with New York City has reached Colorado. Michael Bloomberg, the three-term liberal billionaire mayor, first imposed an A-to-F posted grading system on Big Apple restaurants in 2010. Before Bloomberg left office at the end of 2013, his letter grade system was being heralded as…
Encourage Reporting of Suspected Foodborne Illness
(This article by Harlan Stueven, M.D., was published Sept. 2, 2014, in Food Safety Magazine and is reposted here with permission.) The world seemed shocked that the Noma Restaurant of Copenhagen would be implicated as a source of food poisoning. The restaurant had been awarded high ranks by Michelin. Some call it the “World’s Finest…
California May Soon Require Paid Sick Time for Restaurant Workers and Others
California is poised to become the second state in the country to require paid sick leave for workers, an issue that has serious food safety implications for the restaurant industry. Under the just-passed legislation, which is awaiting Gov. Jerry Brown’s signature (and he has already expressed support), California workers as of July 1, 2015, would…
Letter From the Editor: Public Wants to Know on Restaurants
Longtime readers of this five-year-old news service know that we’ve had our “issues” with the kid-glove treatment most state and federal agencies give the restaurant industry. Such treatment is not in the public interest, nor, ironically, is it doing restaurants much good either. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), for example, still…
Studies on Restaurant Safety Practices Bring More Concerning News
A recent study on food worker habits found that 60 percent of restaurant employees said they had worked a shift while ill, with 20 percent saying that, in the past year, they had worked at least one shift while experiencing vomiting or diarrhea. Four articles published in the December edition of Journal of Food Protection…
Studies on Restaurant Food Safety Produce Some Unsettling Data
In a recent study of restaurant safety practices, 62 percent of restaurant workers handling raw ground beef with their bare hands did not wash up before handling other ready-to-eat foods or cooked ground beef. That was just one of numerous statistics brought to light by a series of studies on restaurant food safety practices published…
The ABCs of New York City's Restaurant Grades: Part 3
There’s been some good news for restaurant operators in New York City. Food safety fines will be reduced. The $50 million-a-year revenue will now be brought down to an estimated $30 million. (What’s $20 million between friends anyway?) In addition, grade standards will be reassessed, an office will be created to mediate between operators and…
Salmonella Outbreak Linked to N.C. Holiday Inn Sickened 100, Final Report Says
The Salmonella Typhimurium outbreak linked to a Holiday Inn in North Carolina ultimately sickened at least 100 people this May, the North Carolina Division of Public Heath reported this week. The bacteria was linked to the All American Grill at the Holiday Inn Bordeaux in Fayetteville, NC, according to the final outbreak report, issued by…
Ultimate Fail: No Food Safety Plan Means Salmonella Could Land on Customer Plates
As a restaurant inspector, it never ceases to amaze me how cavalier some restaurants are with their food-handling practices. I’ve talked with so many owners who think foodborne illness can never happen to them despite the laundry list of critical violations they racked up on their last inspection. Unfortunately, it takes an outbreak that results…
The ABCs of New York City's Restaurant Grades: Part 2
In “The ABCs of New York Restaurant Grades,” I highlighted the pros and cons of how the system works. After viewing a recent news cast on how some restaurants are not posting their grades properly for public view at their locations, I felt compelled to comment on the issue. Restaurants that do not…