The New Mexico Restaurant Association (NMRA) is not happy with a proposal to switch the current green (pass)/red (fail) inspection disclosure system in Albuquerque to letter grades, reports KRQE.com.

Currently results of restaurant inspections are disclosed to the public using green or red stickers at the establishment, with similar in-compliance/not-in-compliance information available online.  The proposed change would provide consumers with more information than simply pass/fail, awarding establishments a letter grade -A,B,C or U (unsatisfactory) – based on the latest inspection scores.

But the NMRA is opposed to this, and released a statement on their website,

“A health department inspection sheet, while a matter of public record, is really a working document, a snapshot, that is provided by the health department to the restaurant owner and is not designed to serve as a guidepost to the general consumer as to the quality or purity of the food served in restaurants. The fact that a restaurant is open for business indicates that no health hazard exists at that establishment.”

I don’t see how that statement suggests why letter grades would be any different than the pass/fail disclosure system. And the part about “if a business is open there is no health hazard” – not sure about that either, since the association stated inspection is just a snapshot, so how can it ensure consumer safety at all times?

What the association should have suggested is that there is no evidence to support a letter grade system over a pass/fail system in conveying inspection results to the public. And some research indicates that consumers still think in terms of pass/fail, even with more complex disclosure systems.