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Health Dept. food scores now available on the Web

By LEE WILLIAMS
lwilliams@TheCitizenNews.com

Want to know how well your favorite restaurant stacks up when it comes to food inspections?

Thanks to officials from the Environmental Health Division of the Fayette County Health Department, the answer is only a mouse click away.

Residents now can find the latest scores at www.admin.co.fayette.ga.us. The information is listed on the left under “Restaurant Inspections.”

The information is provided by the Environmental Health Division. Richard Fehr heads the division. He indicated posted scores will be a plus.

“I think certainly it should help the public,” Fehr said. “Evidently, there is some interest from the public to know what the scores are. Even though [food inspection scores] are required to be posted, some people don’t know where to look for it.”

The Health Department performs routine inspections of all food service establishments in the county. The surprise, quarterly inspections are held to ensure compliance with state rules and regulations.

Scoring for these inspections is based on three categories: I, II and III.

• Category I: Violations in this category are considered hazardous to the public health and require an immediate correction while the Health Department is present, with a permanent correction within 24 hours.

• Category II: Violations in this category are considered critical operational and maintenance violations, which can increase the potential for causing food-borne illness. These violations must be corrected within 72 hours.

• Category III: Items in this category are conducive to good management practices, which maintain a healthy environment for the consumer. Violations in this category are expected to be corrected by the next routine inspection performed by the Health Department.

Each food establishment is given a score of 1 to 100 in each of three categories. The three scores are averaged together to become the final score noted on the inspection sheet, according to the county’s Web site.

Fehr and state health officials agree the state does not dictate what score is considered failing. However, Fehr did indicate if a restaurant scores a 40 or 50, his division will take a look at it.

With this information, Fayette Countians have the tools they need to make better choices when it comes to dining out.

“They can look and see how the local estabishments are doing,” Fehr said. “They don’t have to hunt. They know which choices to make.”

(Editor’s Note: Look for the latest food inspection scores in the next Dining Guide.)