Food

0

By HOWARD FINE

Staff Reporter

In the wake of last fall’s publicity about restaurant sanitation and the resulting county reforms of the restaurant inspection system, L.A. restaurant closures are running at more than three times last year’s levels.

From Jan. 1 through Jan. 16, L.A. County health inspectors closed down 111 restaurants for health code violations, compared with 33 for the like period last year.

The jump in closures does not mean L.A. restaurants are dirtier than they were a year ago, according to Arturo Aguirre, county director of environmental health. Rather, it’s the result of tighter inspection policies and more frequent inspections of previously low-scoring or infrequently inspected restaurants.

“We’re now identifying conditions for closure that before would not have resulted in closures,” Aguirre said. “For example, we are now closing all restaurants that receive failing grades, whereas before we might not have.”

Restaurants are being graded on a scale of zero to 100, with 100 being the cleanest. A score of 91 to 100 yields an “A,” between 81 and 90 is a “B,” and so forth. A score of 60 or below is a failing grade, which almost always results in closure.

Even restaurants with scores above 60 can be closed for any violation health inspectors deem a sufficient threat to public health.

Meanwhile, as of Jan. 21, restaurant patrons had registered 247 complaints on the county’s 24-hour restaurant hotline, which was instituted on Dec. 11. Half of those complaints were lodged in the first week. Since then, the number of complaints has tailed off.

The hotline has also received 34 requests for information on either specific restaurants or the county’s restaurant inspection policy. Twenty of those requests came on three days last week, just days after restaurants were required to start posting their inspection grades.

Aguirre said it will take four to five months for grades to be posted at all restaurants, since that is when the current round of inspections is supposed to be completed.

Recent changes to the grading policy, enacted soon after KCBS-TV Channel 2 aired a widely publicized series in November on restaurant inspections, has drawn fire from the restaurant community.

The objections involve having to post the initial inspection grades, even if immediate follow-up inspections yield better grades. (The initial grade must stay posted until the restaurant is inspected again as part of a normal cycle, which could be up to six months.)

“It is not fair for restaurants to have to post an intial ‘C’ grade for the next five months if a follow-up inspection a day or two later results in an ‘A,'” said Gerald Breitbart, a consultant to the California Restaurant Association.

“Having to post a ‘C’ for five months will result in far greater economic harm than being closed down for two days,” Breitbart said.

Aguirre said that county health director Mark Finucane argued for this policy because the initial inspection more accurately reflects the true nature of a restaurant’s compliance.

“The thinking was that within a week or two after the inspection, the restaurant might go back to its ‘true nature,’ which might be more along the lines of a ‘B’ or a ‘C.’ In that case, the public would get a false sense of security,” Aguirre said.

Because the stakes are so high, restaurant owners have more incentive to make sure their facilities are spotless and increase their chances of receiving an “A.”

However, Breitbart said, there are no clear and objective guidelines for inspectors and restaurant owners to follow, which makes it harder to ensure getting an “A.”

No posts to display