This year marks the 10th anniversary of Los Angeles County’s nationally recognized food safety inspection program. The program was created by the Board of Supervisors to promote proper food safety practices and to protect the public’s health.

Restaurant scores have shown marked improvements over the past ten years. Restaurants receiving an A grade have more than doubled. The percent of restaurants receiving a C grade has dramatically decreased. In addition, the percentage of restaurants receiving less than a C grade was reduced by approximately 98 percent. In 1997-98, 11.7 percent of restaurant inspections resulted in a below C grade, and in 2006-07, only 0.2 percent, or 89 of 44,715 of inspected restaurants, received a below C grade.

The availability of inspection grades (i.e., A, B, C, and less than C) has empowered consumers to make informed decisions about where they dine outside of the home. Inspections identify factors that contribute to foodborne illness, such as improper temperatures, inadequate cooking, contaminated equipment, poor employee hygiene, and food provided from unsafe sources. Restaurants can receive a maximum score of 100 points from an inspection. Points are subtracted for violations that are considered major, moderate, or minimal risks. Some violations, such as vermin infestation or the lack of hot running water, are considered severe enough to result in closure of that restaurant until changes are made.

The program’s success has resulted in both improved food hygiene practices in restaurants and retail markets as well as reduced foodborne illness in the County. A published study demonstrated that hospitalizations for foodborne illness had dropped by 13 percent between 1993 (before the grading program was established) and 2000 compared to surrounding counties.(1) Since 2000, the rate of hospitalizations for foodborne disease has remained at the same low level. To help maintain this success, in the past ten years, over 60,000 food industry employees have gone through state-required Certified Food Handler training which has greatly expanded the knowledge base of safe handling practices throughout food facilities in the Los Angeles area.

The public popularity and success of the restaurant inspection program has been demonstrated in several ways. The Department of Public Health created an incentive for restaurants to improve their hygiene practices by posting the results of restaurant grades online. Click here for more information.
This gives consumers an opportunity to review restaurant grading scores prior to choosing a place to dine. During the first nine months of 2008, this website registered more than 385,000 hits. Public surveys also show that the program has been successful, as 91 percent of respondents indicated that they liked the grading system.

These results indicate that the Department of Public Health is building an effective partnership with the public that allows them to make proactive informed decisions about where to dine, and that this behavior enhances the safety and quality of our food supply.