« Govt. study: Excess weight protects against death from many diseases (diabetes, cancer, kidney/heart disease not included) | Main | Updated: Facebook ad network: Friend spam; May be illegal »

November 8, 2007

Health Dept. puts searchable restaurant inspection reports online

R.I. Dept. of Health, Office of Food Protection photo
In 2002 the Journal published photos of common violations, such as the one above illustrating "cross contamination -- raw food above ready to eat product." Photos are taken during inspections, sometimes for training purposes.

The Rhode Island Department of Health has put its restaurant inspection reports online. The Food Protection Inspection
Reports, which date back to January, "appear verbatim, as written by Rhode Island State health inspectors."

It's not all restaurants. Bakeries. delis and grocery stores, wholesalers, schools, nursing homes and hospitals, convenience stores, snack bars, lemonade stands and sushi makers at supermarkets are on inspectors' routes, too.

The reports are searchable by keyword, name, address and zipcode and you can also browse the thousands of food purveyors alphabetically.

They make for sketchy casual reading. Many I clicked either had not been visited in this period or -- good news -- "No violations were marked out on this inspection." A 2002 Journal story noted that complaints by customers can trigger a visit, or common sense: Inspectors have descended unanounced on restaurants without air conditioning or with a history of problems during a heat wave, since illness-causing bacteria multiply quickly at high temperatures.

Citations I did find included mouse droppings, refrigerators lacking thermometers, menus that didn't disclose or warn against raw and uncooked foods, and a host of other infractions,

An employee was observed touching ready to eat food ( slicing lemon )with his bare hands. Food employess must not touch exposed, ready-to-eat food with their bare hands and shall use suitable utensils such as deli tissue, spatulas, single use gloves or dispensing equipment.

and

The (ice scoop) is stored on an unclean surface (top of ice machine) between uses. During pauses in food preparation, utensils must be stored on a clean surface or in a clean protected location.

The results of follow-up visits to check that violations have been corrected are also included.

One place that was visited four times was cited on the third visit for several food-safety violations, including sushi rice held at 90 degrees, beef thawing on a counter, a bag of sugar stored on the floor and more. On three other visits -- two earlier and one later -- "No violations were marked out on this inspection."

This is all good. Restaurants live by word of mouth, and now what goes on behind the scenes is public knowledge, too.

Posted by Sheila Lennon  at 3:49 AM | Permalink

Comments

Posted by: trudy on November 8, 2007 6:46 AM

Posted by: Beth Heaney on November 9, 2007 12:26 PM