As Pittsburgh continues to grapple with restaurant inspection disclosure – or not — the town of Little Elm, Texas, has decided to add QR codes to the technology that is being utilized by its health services department, in order to help to improve efficiency when it comes to the effort to maintain transparency with restaurant inspection results.

Way to go Pittsburgh, you’ve been upstaged by Little Elm. Texas. That’s gotta hurt.

Through the use of this new system, it is possible for people to be able to scan the unique QR codes posted with the inspection signage for each restaurant. Upon scanning, the user will be directed to a website that contains the inspection notes that were made for the restaurant about which the mobile device user is inquiring. This system also allows the results of the inspections to be updated and distributed nearly immediately.

The QR codes based program is based on the same one that has become quite popular in nearby Plano.

The information about a restaurant’s inspection is updated by way of the QRcode as soon as it is complete. This way, residents and visitors to the town will be able to check on the latest scores for that restaurant within a matter of seconds. This, according to Mike Green, the community integrity director.

Green explained by providing an example that said “Let’s say we’re in the kitchen doing the inspection, and you pull into the parking lot of that restaurant,” adding that “As soon as we finish the inspection, the score changes online. You can literally see the newest score of the place you’re about to eat at while you’re in the parking lot.”

A growing number of municipalities are incorporating QR codes into their restaurant inspection systems as it is a highly cost efficient way to upload and share the information with the public.