Despite a warning from the county grand jury, the Orange County Board of Supervisors declined Tuesday to impose a letter grading system designed to inform would-be diners about the health safety record of restaurants.
It was the second time that county supervisors rejected using a system that's become nearly universal in Southern California -- using letter grades to measure restaurants.
Orange County does not require its 13,000 restaurants to post letter grades after health inspections. Instead, restaurants are required to post certificates showing that they have met food preparation and cleanliness standards or are scheduled for a reinspection because of past violations.
In May, the Orange County Grand Jury concluded that the county's current system essentially keeps the public "in the dark" about a restaurant's record and suggested the county's Health Care Agency require restaurants to post letter grades so the public knows how they scored in their last safety inspections.
Citing a Stanford University study, the grand jury also noted that instances of food-borne illness declined in Los Angeles County after it adopted the letter grading system in 1998. It also said that most Orange County restaurant customers don't even notice the certificates the establishments are currently required to post.
But supervisors Tuesday declined to adopt the letter grading system or an alternative plan that would have required restaurants to post color-coded certificates to provide more information to customers. A yellow certificate would have indicated that the restaurant had been cited and was scheduled for a reinspection.
Instead, supervisors opted to redesign certificates to more prominently display "reinspection scheduled" for those restaurants that had enough violations to warrant a follow-up visit by the health department.
Supervisor Bill Campbell, who once owned a chain of Taco Bell franchises, said he thought it was unfair to punish restaurant owners with grades or color codes if they had corrected problems and met health standards. The county Health Care Agency will not allow restaurants to open if they fail to correct significant health violations.
"I do have some concerns about the yellow [warning certificates] in this particular market. Consumers won't understand. I just think that jumps out too much in this particular time," said Campbell, citing the slumping economy.
