New-Look Sanitation Cards

The restaurant inspection process is the same, but the sanitation score grade cards posted after the inspection will have a different look. State environmental health officials are rolling out the new score cards, which will be used in restaurant inspections beginning August 1.

The new cards will prominently feature both the letter grade (A, B or C) and the number score (70-102), in 1½-inch characters. Both scores were previously on the cards, but the numeric score was written in at the bottom of the grade card and difficult to see. All cards will also be black and white; the old cards had different colors for the different letter grades.

"The new cards make more information available to restaurant patrons—enlarging the numbers means they can see where the restaurant falls on the 100-point scale as well as the letter grade," said Rick Wagoner, director of the Food, Institution and Sanitation Division (FISD) of Wake County Environmental Services.

The restaurant inspection process is unchanged. Restaurants and other food-handling establishments are still subject to quarterly unannounced inspections by FISD's environmental health specialists. Inspectors observe the premises and the conditions under which food is handled and prepared. Deductions from the scores are made when the rules are not met, and the state requires the results of these inspections, in the form of the sanitation scorecard, to be posted in a place easily seen by the public. The changes in the sanitation scorecard format make it easier for customers to note the number score and use it when making dining choices.

The change comes after a pilot study in seven counties tested a grade card that contained only a number score without the letter grade. Based upon the pilot counties' experiences and feedback from health departments, industry and the public, the state decided to use a card with prominent letter and number scores. Use of the new cards will begin on August 1.

State and local environmental health officials want North Carolinians to "Know the Score" and have launched a public outreach campaign aimed at making restaurant patrons aware of the new card format. Know the Score fact sheets and brochures about the new card and the restaurant inspection process are available through Wake County Environmental Services, 919-856-7400. This information is also available by contacting the state Division of Environmental Health at 919-715-8497 or by visiting the Division Web site at www.deh.enr.state.nc.us.