Tag Archives: Toronto

Restaurant inspection grades prominently displayed better for diners and operators

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Ten years to the month after the City of Toronto (that’s in Canada) launched its red-yellow-green restaurant inspection disclosure system, New York City issued a progress report on its 6-month-old A-B-C disclosure system and concludes – high-fives all around.

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene said that its new sanitation regime has significantly exceeded the department’s expectations. … Of the 10,000 restaurants that received grade cards during the first six months under the new rules, 87 per cent had received either A or B grades, and 57 percent had received A’s.

Many restaurants improved upon their first scores, the department said. Among those scoring a B on the first inspection (a score of 14 to 27 violation points), close to 44 percent earned an A grade on the second inspection, the department said. And 72 percent of the restaurants that scored a C on the first inspection (the equivalent of 28 or more violation points) improved to an A or B grade.

Apparently the letter grades have captured public interest. The department said that its new restaurant-inspection Web site has received more than 40,000 page views each month, a fivefold increase over the previous year, and the previous Web site.

These results mirror almost exactly what has happened in Toronto over the past 10 years.

DineSafe is Toronto Public Health’s Food Premises Inspection and Disclosure system. Under this program, restaurants post colour-coded inspection results at the front entrances of restaurants and results are also posted on a searchable website. The DineSafe website now lists 14,755 food establishments, and diners can easily and quickly check the inspection status of any location on the site.

“In the past 10 years, DineSafe has increased the transparency of the restaurant inspection process and led to a significant improvement in food safety,” said Medical Officer of Health Dr. David McKeown. “I am proud of the program, and congratulate our public health inspectors and restaurant owners and operators who work together every day to make our food safer.”

Prior to the implementation of DineSafe, less than 50 per cent of restaurants passed their first inspection. After the first year of the program, 78 per cent of the premises inspected received a green pass, and compliance with all food safety regulations has now risen to 91 per cent.

“DineSafe has increased the efficiency of the system as the vast majority of restaurants pass their first inspection without the need for a re-inspection, meaning our inspectors can now visit more places,” said Dr. McKeown. Any premise that receives a yellow conditional pass is re-inspected within 48 hours. Depending on the type of operation, each premise requires between one and three mandatory inspections a year.

In 2006, the City further strengthened food safety in Toronto by passing a Food Handler Training bylaw that ensures every restaurant has a certified food handler on site at all times. To date, TPH has certified 38,331 employees on safe food handling practices.

Filion, K. and Powell, D.A. 2009. The use of restaurant inspection disclosure systems as a means of communicating food safety information. Journal of Foodservice 20: 287-297.

Abstract

??The World Health Organization estimates that up to 30% of individuals in developed countries become ill from food or water each year. Up to 70% of these illnesses are estimated to be linked to food prepared at foodservice establishments. Consumer confidence in the safety of food prepared in restaurants is fragile, varying significantly from year to year, with many consumers attributing foodborne illness to foodservice. One of the key drivers of restaurant choice is consumer perception of the hygiene of a restaurant. Restaurant hygiene information is something consumers desire, and when available, may use to make dining decisions.
 

Toronto grocery store to reopen after illness sent customers to hospital

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A Toronto grocery store was evacuated after some staff and customers became ill Saturday, but the Loblaw store should reopen Monday after being given the all clear.

The food chain said four customers and seven employees were affected by symptoms that “include vomiting and to a lesser degree, diarrhea” but all were recovering.

While media reports said the illnesses were caused by a chemical leak, the chain said tests found no such evidence.
 

Always fresh, never frozen: hepatitis A in Wendy’s employee

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Toronto Public Health has identified a case of Hepatitis A in an employee at a Wendy’s restaurant located at 438 Nugget Avenue in Scarborough. Anyone who consumed food purchased at this restaurant between July 26 and August 6 may have been exposed to the hepatitis A virus. The risk of getting the infection is very low.

Depends on how well the employee washed his or her hands and whether they were prepping salads or other fresh product. Don’t eat poop.
 

New web site, letter grades go into effect for New York City diners

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The New York City health department unveiled a new Web site today to go along with the beginning of its A-B-C restaurant inspection disclosure system of more than 24,000 restaurants in the five boroughs.

Daniel Kass, a deputy commissioner, told The New York Times,

“There is no shortage of sources of information on restaurants, but there is no other central source to find information about restaurants’ hygiene practices. We hope that this Web site will help spread the food safety message.”

The Web site displays restaurants’ current A, B or C letter grades and the specifics of their violations, and is designed to allow searches by restaurants’ first names or even first letters, by letter grades in specific ZIP codes, by boroughs and by dates of inspection. It also offers maps of restaurants’ locations, and Google street views of the restaurants’ exteriors.

John La Duca, the department’s director of online editing said a widget on the home page will permit readers to type in restaurants’ names for their latest inspection results. This widget can be installed on other Web sites or home pages — for example, on the Zagat Survey’s online version, or on bloggers’ sites, or Facebook and other social media platforms — to permit quick access to the inspection ratings from places other than the department’s home page.

Inspection results on the site were formerly updated weekly, Mr. Kass said. “Now, in most cases, it will be updated daily, when it is uploaded overnight from the inspectors’ hand-helds,” he said, referring to the portable computers in which inspectors enter restaurants’ cleanliness scores.

Associated Press commemorated the beginning of the new letter grades by recycling old arguments – the same ones heard when Los Angeles started it’s a-B-C system in 1998 and Toronto started its red-yellow-green system in 2002.

Robert Bookman, a lawyer for the New York State Restaurant Association, which vehemently opposes the letter grades, said,

"Some will undoubtedly close if they get a B or a C."

Others say they accept the new system and will strive for an A.

David Chang, whose hotter-than-hot restaurants include Momofuku Noodle Bar and Momofuku Ko, said,

"It is our goal always to get an A," said. "If we don’t get an A, we fail."

Chang said he has sent his sous chefs to city Health Department workshops to get up to speed on the new system.

That’s a much better approach. The best restaurants will not only embrace the letter grades and provide critiques to improve the system, they will brag and promote their A grades. It’s a form of marketing food safety, which helps enhance the overall culture of food safety.

Madelyn Alfano, who owns nine Maria’s Italian Kitchen restaurants, said Los Angeles restaurateurs still are not fond of the system, adding,

"If you don’t have hand towels in your restroom that’s points off. We don’t like it but we’ve learned to live with it."

That’s because paper towels should always be available. And what about a sticker on the dispenser that says,

“No towels? Please tell a server immediately. Yours in hand cleanliness, the owners.”

I just made that up.

Larry Michael, head of food protection for North Carolina’s Department of Environment and Natural Resources, said letter grade systems also are in effect in North and South Carolina, and the system works well, adding,

"Consumers really pay attention to the rating cards. The A, B, C system is familiar and it’s easy to interpret."

For those still wondering, here’s a review paper discussing the pros and cons of disclosure systems.

Filion, K. and Powell, D.A. 2009. The use of restaurant inspection disclosure systems as a means of communicating food safety information. Journal of Foodservice 20: 287-297.

Abstract?
The World Health Organization estimates that up to 30% of individuals in developed countries become ill from food or water each year. Up to 70% of these illnesses are estimated to be linked to food prepared at foodservice establishments. Consumer confidence in the safety of food prepared in restaurants is fragile, varying significantly from year to year, with many consumers attributing foodborne illness to foodservice. One of the key drivers of restaurant choice is consumer perception of the hygiene of a restaurant. Restaurant hygiene information is something consumers desire, and when available, may use to make dining decisions.

Canada confused about listeria

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Canada is so complacent that when a leading hospital provides terrible food safety advice, no one notices.

Although Canada’s track record with ridiculous things said involving listeria is hard to match.

There’s a recall of some pre-cooked meat products going on right now. No one is apparently sick, but this is how Canada’s version of state-sponsored jazz reported the event:

CBC News says a Winnipeg food processor is recalling its pre-cooked meat products after an Alberta customer raised concerns about possible contamination with listeria bacteria.

Smith’s Quality Meats, which sells in provinces from British Columbia to Ontario, has voluntarily pulled a wide variety of its products from shelves.

I’m not sure customer is the best word. Maybe the customer walked into the store with those magic I-can-see-listeria goggles.

Smith’s spokesman Andy Van Patter said,

"The discovery was made on one product at one location in Alberta through testing performed by our customer. There [is] no indication that other products are affected."

Oh, Smith’s supplied the meat to someone and they tested it and got a listeria positive. Got it.

CTV News reported that people with weak immune systems, pregnant women and the elderly are most at risk from listeriosis.

Unless you’re a medical professional at Toronto’s Sick Kids Hospital, where there is no risk of listeria to pregnant women or the elderly as long as food is bought from reputable sources. Their words, not mine.
 

Toronto is officially worst original 6 hockey team; Chicago wins Cup

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There’s no food safety here – other than the Stan Mikita Donuts used in the movie Wayne’s World, written by and starring Mike Myers of Toronto (Canada), riffing on Tim Hortons donuts.

With Chicago winning Lord Stanley’s Cup this evening for the first time since 1961, Toronto officially becomes the worst hockey franchise, probably ever. They haven’t won the Cup since 1967, and have gone the longest of the original six hockey teams that have not won the Cup.

But good for Tony Esposito, Chicago Blackhawks goodwill ambassador and best NHL goalie ever.

Maple Leaf CEO: get your butt off that kitchen counter, someone may make food there

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I don’t let cats or dogs or lizards on my food prep area, and I don’t let anyone plant their behind on my food prep area – who knows where that behind has been.

That’s what I took away from Maple Leaf Foods latest attempt to woo wary customers back to their delicious deli flavor.

Maple Leaf CEO Michael McCain and some other food safety types from the company hosted a dine and lecture for bloggers on May 27 in the Toronto area, to update would-be social media leaders to go forth with the food safety crusade that has taken over Maple Leaf since the 2008 listeria outbreak which killed 22 people.

A number of bloggers have written about this event. They talk about the sweet food, the sincerity of the Maple Leaf types and the super swag. No one raised any hard questions like:

• why did Maple Leaf wait so long to issue a public recall of its killer products in 2008 when epidemiology clearly implicated the product;
• why aren’t listeria test results in Maple Leaf plants made public;
• why aren’t there warning labels on deli meats for at-risk populations, like pregnant women and all those old people that unnecessarily died; and,
• why aren’t Maple Leaf’s food safety efforts marketed at retail so consumers can choose?

Other companies that want to lead are already working in these areas, rather than wining and dining trendy bloggers.

In the U.S., Beef Products Inc. is figuring out how to make all its E. coli tests public, and Cargill is expanding the use of video in its slaughterhouses to enhance animal welfare and food safety.

The Publix supermarket chain in the southeast already labels its deli products to say,

“The Publix Deli is committed to the highest quality fresh cold cuts & cheeses.? Therefore we recommend all cold cuts are best if used within three days of purchase.? And all cheese items are best if used within four days of purchase.”

And not one of the bloggers mentioned, OMG, did you see that those nurses and doctors at Toronto Sick Kid’s hospital said pregnant women can eat all the cold-cuts and raw seafood they want, listeria’s not such a big deal after all.

But all I take away from reading all the blogs is this pic: dude, get your butt off the food prep area.

Restaurant inspection and disclosure: struggle for resources, debate about disclosure

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People like to eat. People like to eat out. People are interested in how their favorite eateries stack up against others.

It’s a standard story that is being repeated in countries across North America: what restaurants in a region get lousy (and occasionally disgusting) inspections, and what is the best way to make those results available to the public?

The Ottawa Citizen chipped in with a three-part series that wraps up Monday and found 44 per cent of area restaurants and take-out places were cited for a failure to comply with health regulations in the past year.

Since April, Ottawa has made its food inspections available online through a searchable database called EatSafe. Users can type in the name or location of the restaurant to see inspection results (ottawa.ca/eatsafe).

Mike Ziola, president of the Ontario Restaurant Hotel and Motel Association ‘s Ottawa chapter said Ottawa doesn’t need the colour-coded food safety system used in Toronto, where restaurants are required to post a green, yellow or red warning sign based on their most recent inspection, stating,

“Essentially, a yellow is a red. I don’t know why they even have a yellow.”

Oh. Oh. I do. When Toronto introduced it’s system the restaurant association made the same argument and the city hired me to write a report for the pending court case – which never went to court. Yes, a yellow is like a red, but it allows the restaurant to stay open. And no one wants a yellow, so the percentage of greens has increased dramatically.

Same thing in New York. The Times quotes Geoff Kravitz, a spokesman for the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce, as telling the first public hearing Friday considering the city’s proposal to rate restaurant cleanliness with posted letter grades, as saying,

“Letter grades are nothing more than a scarlet letter that will keep people from eating out.”

Any evidence to support that opinion? Have letter grades in Los Angeles kept people from eating out?

The New York State Restaurant Association maintains that letter ratings would encourage bribery and corruption – since the highly public placards would dramatically raise cleanliness ratings’ significance to restaurateurs.

Always a risk, but the best restaurants will embrace the disclosure system and promote their excellent results.

The Times story notes that in Los Angeles, the letter system has been in effect for more than a decade. According to a 2007 study by the county’s health department, 91 percent of the populace likes the letter-grading plan. But one speaker, Robin Werteheimer, said that restaurateurs in New York “are not Los Angeles,” adding that “most of their buildings are not 200 years old, and most of them are not next to empty lots with hundreds of rats. It would be nice if the city would clean up those lots.”

Cleveland has new on-line access to restaurant inspection reports, but some are already demanding information on the door.

The New Brunswick Health Department makes all restaurant inspection report cards available to the public on the provincial government website. They can be found at www.gnb.ca under Food Premises Inspection Results.

The province started posting inspection reports on its website in 2007, mainly as a way for restaurant customers to keep an eye on food service establishments.

In Wisconsin, Nancy Eggleston, Wood County environmental health and communicable disease supervisor, said the state will begin the switch from paper to paperless forms of restaurant inspection records, and counties will have the option of placing the inspections on a Web site to make them easily available to the public.

And that’s just one weekend worth of stories. People like this stuff. No politician wants to say, “you, citizen, can’t have this information.” The challenge is to provide the disclosure results in a fair and meaningful manner.
 

Is sex in a bathroom in a restaurant a good public health idea?

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A Toronto restaurant is inviting diners to inject some sizzle into their Valentine’s Day dinner by promoting sex in their bathrooms.

Chef/co-owner Donna Dooher of Mildred’s Temple Kitchen said,

"We’ve always had little trysts in our bathrooms. We’re taking it to the next level on Valentine’s weekend."

The Toronto Star reports that the restaurant’s four bathrooms light up outside when occupied. Staff have learned to watch the light flicker twice when two customers enter the same bathroom, usually a few minutes apart.

Jim Chan, manager of the food safety program at Toronto Public Health, said as long as there’s no sex in the kitchen and the restaurant keeps its washrooms clean and sanitized, it’s not fussed, adding,

"As far as bodily fluids, it’s pretty much similar to the other human functions going on in there.”

Kentucky Fried cockroach in Ontario?

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The Toronto Sun reports that a KFC in Maple, Ontario, is being probed by health officials after a Richmond Hill man said he found a roach embedded in the bottom of a sandwich he ordered Friday night.

Appropriately enough the sandwich was the Big Crunch.

Michael McNamara, 28, its unlucky recipient, was big-time bugged by the nasty find.

“I didn’t see on the underside that there’s a cockroach mashed into the bun. Basically I ordered the food and once I saw it I immediately yelled at my buddy, ‘don’t eat here, stop what you’re doing!’”

York Region Community and Health Services spokesman Monica Bryce confirmed a health inspector had paid a visit to the KFC restaurant Saturday after McNamara’s complaint.

“We didn’t find any evidence that warranted closing the restaurant, but we did find one infraction,” Bryce said, adding inspectors found one pest-control trap with a dead roach in it.