How low is too low for local Restaurant Sanitation Grades (Charlotte: credit, school)
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I hope this thread is allowed to stay here instead of getting bumped to "North Carolina". I know it's a statewide system but we have the advantage of being able to read the reports online here in Mecklenburg so the question is, how many of us do and how low is too low?
Anthony Bourdain (whom I'm big fan of) says there's nothing wrong with some honest dirt with a meal and a lot of people will cry out too much government control.
But I'm telling you at least with Mecklenburg County, the violations that take away points are more serious than dirt. They involve stuff like food storage, and temp the ingredients are being held at or cooked too (I've seen some real low temps). I've also seen some scary stuff like someone using the wrong kind of fish for sushi where the product actually came with an origin tag that said "may contain parasites".
Maybe Meck is taking a line that it has to be serious in order to get dinged and they aren't as concerned with honest dirt (though they are concerned with mold in an ice machine).
Also, I'm not sure how I feel about the education credit an establishment can use to get bonus points for UP TO THREE YEARS! They get 2 points for training. But if that pushes an 89.5 to a 91.5 like it did last week I'm concerned. There's no way to tell by looking at the certificate if there's bonus points involved.
I'd like to start a somewhat regular posting of low grades and the critical reasons points were loss. Critical means that particular problem could cause a food-borne illness.
About the only thing they might be picky about in Mecklenburg is employees storing personal drinks near product that could cause a cross contamination. That can cost you 1.5 points. I'm no expert here but besides that missing points are usually pretty serious.
I'm thinking for my reports to use a 7 point scale instead of 10. If you get less than a 93 then I'm going to write you up and that is regardless of education points.
But what's a good number for Charlotte eateries? I'm really stuck. 95 sounds great but two points could mean really 93. I don't care about the knowledge of the manager if he can't translate it to food line.
I dont get the big hang up on the grades. Ive never heard of this till I moved down south. I dont walk into a food establishment and look for the grade. If im standing in line or looking for something to stare at, I might see it. I dont think ive ever seen anything below a 90, and i assume theres a cut off grade.
I think that if you use a different system than the standard it will just confuse people, and that will defeat any purpose you may have in writing the reports.
I don't eat anywhere that doesn't have an "A" rating. I'm already aware of much of the nasty stuff in the food we all eat, so the details won't really make much of a difference.
I dont get the big hang up on the grades. Ive never heard of this till I moved down south. I dont walk into a food establishment and look for the grade. If im standing in line or looking for something to stare at, I might see it. I dont think ive ever seen anything below a 90, and i assume theres a cut off grade.
Whatever the cutoff is, it's lower than 90. I have seen ones in the 80s. My wife and I won't go to a restaurant lower than 92. We also check the health dept website to see exactly why a place got the score it did.
I've decided not to go to places above 92 if they have certain violations. For example, Thai Taste in Matthews had several repeated violations for moldy sinks. If they can't take care of something that is pointed out to them like that, then what else are they missing?
I dont get the big hang up on the grades. Ive never heard of this till I moved down south. I dont walk into a food establishment and look for the grade. If im standing in line or looking for something to stare at, I might see it. I dont think ive ever seen anything below a 90, and i assume theres a cut off grade.
Whatever the cutoff is, it's lower than 90. I have seen ones in the 80s. My wife and I won't go to a restaurant lower than 92. We also check the health dept website to see exactly why a place got the score it did.
I've decided not to go to places above 92 if they have certain violations. For example, Thai Taste in Matthews had several repeated violations for moldy sinks. If they can't take care of something that is pointed out to them like that, then what else are they missing?
People check this stuff before they go to places? Honestly, if I see a place while im out and it looks good, or if a friend or co-worker tells me its good, I go.
If I go somewhere and saw they got a real low score, i might be a bit weary. I cant believe 70 is the cut off though. I cant imagine what a 70 is.
I draw the line at reserving food off someone else's plate that was brought back into the kitchen when the table was cleaned, and/or dropping food on the floor and then serving it. They often don't consider this, but I don't care for food that is handled by someone who is also handling money.
as a former restaurant manager, I can tell you that the standards here are FAR lower than those in SC. I was very surprised. And, I also look for the restaurant grades. Won't eat anywhere less than a 95.
Also look to see what they were cited for. Bugs in the kitchen...yeah, not so much. YUK!!! a bucket of pickles on the walk in floor...well, that is hardly a horrible offense. Sometimes the inspectors just get nuts. (yes, it is an infraction, but, something that can be easily fixed, not like mold or bugs)
There are a lot of items im sure are a bit silly. I worked in restaurants for several years, and we would be surprised inspected. Sometimes it was REALLY busy and the place wasnt perfect, other times, we'd have issues to deal with. When it got humid, we would start getting fruit fly's. It was nearly impossible to not get any at all, and we tried to combat it the best we could. Sure, we had a few flying around, not a whole school of them. We prepped a lot of food in the back, so you might have a straw lettuce or a onion peel behind a counter. Im sure theres going to be things that make you a 97, and then make you a 97.5
I don't eat out much b/c I don't trust anyone else's kitchen habits, i.e., coughing employees, employees that don't wash their hands frequently, food cross-contamination, etc. That being said . . . I won't eat anywhere w/a grade lower than 95, b/c to me - anything lower shows a lack of attention to detail BY MANAGEMENT. You either hire employees who do things the right way most of the time or you don't.
But that is just me, and I am hyper-vigilant about sanitation, probably b/c of my healthcare background. I have found that healthcare workers are too often lax about taking universal precautions. A study several years ago found that physicians themselves spread bacteria throughout a hospital more often than any one other cause. Why? They use smartphones, stethoscopes, etc . . . touch a patient, touch the phone, touch a patient . . . cross contamination.
Also, just b/c someone has on gloves, it doesn't mean a thing, unless they take them off the minute they finish a task. This is true in hospitals as well as restaurants. I watched someone assemble a sub one day, while wearing gloves, then take a patron's money, use the cash register, then return to assembling subs - wearing the same pair of gloves. BLEEEECCHHHH. Maybe the gloves were protecting the EMPLOYEE - but they sure were not helping w/ protecting the patrons.
The only way to eat safely is to prepare stuff yourself - and then, that only works if you truly are aware of cross contamination and how it occurs - and you are washing down surfaces and utensils continually, keeping the fridge sanitized, not allowing objects to be placed on prep surfaces (purses, newspapers, dog bowls, attache cases, etc).
All that being said . . . the immune system is a wonderful thing, lol. I just don't want to carelessly prepare chicken. for ex., in my kitchen and end up with salmonella or Campylobacter. Studies have shown anywhere from 20-80% of sampled chicken (from grocery stores) have either or both Salmonella and Campylobacter (FDA and CDC reports - you can google it if you want more info). And I sure as heck don't trust most restaurants to be as careful as I am about food prep.
So if the restaurant is under 95% . . . I won't eat there. And even then, I don't order anything that isn't well cooked . . . I used to love steak tartare but those days are LONG gone, hee hee.
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