Where are the inspection grades for SLO County restaurants?
Have you noticed restaurants in parts of California post the results of health inspections with large letter grades? Ever wondered why restaurants in San Luis Obispo County don’t?
Several readers have asked The Tribune that question in response to our monthly restaurant inspection stories.
A grand jury, a group of citizens who reviewed the inspection process in 2010, considered the same question and recommended scores be posted in prominent locations.
The county Public Health Department does not require restaurants to post a grade letter, letting customers know clearly if the kitchen got an A, B or C, for example — and that’s not likely going to change.
The Tribune asked supervising environmental health specialist Laurie Salo about why the county doesn’t require grades. She’s part of the consumer protection wing of Public Health that performs restaurant inspections.
“We have learned from other counties’ experiences that a simple letter grade can be misleading,” Salo wrote in an email.
“For example, a single one-time critical violation receives a higher point deduction than a host of ongoing problems or violations leading to a lower score at a point in time for a generally carefully managed facility,” her email read.
“Facilities that are displeased with their grade can and frequently do request a reinspection to correct the violations and obtain a better grade,” Salo wrote. “This action may result in proprietors ‘chasing’ an A grade, leading to an inefficient inspection system, less detailed and useful information for the consumer and higher fees for all food retailers due to the extra inspection demand.”
Using letter grades is not mandated by current state law, and the county does have a public-facing scoring system that provides more detailed information.
The department made the www.eatsafeslo.org website, so people can use their phones to make informed decisions.
This story was originally published October 30, 2019 at 4:45 AM.
