Restaurant Safety

Look at the grade card (sanitation score) for the restaurant. Health inspectors inspect restaurants and other foodservice establishments regularly. These inspections help ensure that customers are getting safe food that is prepared properly. Each restaurant is graded on a 100-point scale. A grade card is given showing a letter grade and number score at the end of an inspection. It must be hung in a place that can be easily seen so you can check it before you sit down. The higher the grade and score, the safer the restaurant. If you don't see a grade card, ask someone who works at the restaurant. Wake County's restaurant sanitation scores are available online if you want to check a restaurant's grade before you go out to eat.

If you see a problem at a restaurant, like dirty dishes, unclean tables or lukewarm foods, please let the manager know. Restaurant owners are usually very responsive to customer concerns.

For more food safety information, consider checking these resources:

• Gateway to Government Food Safety Information
  
  
• Food Safety and Inspection Service at the USDA
  
  
• Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition at the FDA

 cp 01-12