Orange County health officials are planning to change the way they rate the county's nearly 7,000 restaurants, leaning toward a new scoring system similar to the letter grades used in Los Angeles and San Diego counties.
The county also is planning to post the scores on a Web site to make them more accessible to consumers, but does not plan to require restaurant owners to display them.
Presently, consumers can see inspection reports only by visiting the county custodian of records in Santa Ana.
The change is being prompted by consumer demand "to have something to measure sanitation even though any scoring system we develop is only going to be a snapshot in time," said Bill Ford, the county's assistant director of environmental health.
The details of the plan, including whether the grades will be letters or numbers, still are being worked out, Ford said. Officials hope to launch the new system within a year. Expected much sooner are Web site listings of restaurant closures.
Switching to a scoring system would be a dramatic departure from the existing system, which relies on reports that contain no overall grade or ranking.
The county's 54 health inspectors cover 6,870 restaurants with four surprise visits a year, Ford said. They look for violations in areas such as rodent and insect infestation, food storage and temperature, worker hygiene, and making sure that there is hot running water and no sewage problems.
If an immediate health hazard exists, the eatery is shut down on the spot until the problems are corrected. If there are minor violations, such as improper food handling or storage, the owner is given a report and a date for re-inspection.
If the owner does not comply by the specified date, he or she is put on notice that the restaurant will be shut down within 15 days.
Seventy-two Orange County restaurants were shut down for one to three days between July 1 and Sept. 30, 1998, the latest figures available. In 1997, 159 restaurants were closed for some period of time.
The grading system used by Los Angeles County health officials is similar to the one used in public schools.
A top "A" rating requires a score of 90% to 100% from an inspection. A score of 80% to 89% results in a "B" rating. Eateries that score between 70% and 79% receive a "C" grade. Restaurants scoring below 70% do not merit a letter grade, just a numeric score. Restaurants that fall below 60% more than twice in one year are subject to being closed.
