Now on the Menu: Seal of Quality

Official food safety “Inspection Notification Seals” began appearing over the weekend in windows of restaurants and other food establishments throughout Orange County.

The seals--counterparts to a letter-grade system used in other counties--mark businesses that have passed a health and food cleanliness inspection by the Orange County Health Care Agency.

Within five months, all restaurants, delicatessens and other businesses that prepare and sell food over the counter will have been inspected at least once by county health officers and given the seal or flunked, said Bill Ford, who directs the inspection program. The county began issuing the certificates Friday.

Businesses that don’t pass will be shut down until they correct the infractions, officials said. The notices are supposed to be posted at the entry of a restaurant or otherwise displayed where it is readily visible to the public, said Mike Spurgeon, director of regulatory health services for the county.

The notification program was approved in September by the Board of Supervisors, which had rejected letter grading for the 10,000 food businesses subject to food inspection rules. Such grading, although popular with the public, was opposed by restaurant industry representatives.

Instead, supervisors opted for the inspection seal, as well as an award of excellence for businesses that excel in the inspections. In addition, patrons can request a copy of the most recent inspection report and can view failures on the agency’s Web site at https://www.oc.ca.gov/hca/regulatory/foodclos.htm.

Supervisors said the county program provides the public more complete information than a simple letter grade.

Operators must make the latest report available within 24 hours of a request.

“If you walk in at peak of dinner hour and business is going crazy, you would not expect to see it then,” Ford said. “But if you came in at a different hour, you would expect to have it handed to you.”

The county has 54 inspectors of restaurants and other food establishments who check for correct food-handling practices and overall cleanliness, including signs of rat or roach infestation. They also check to ensure that food storage temperatures are appropriate--maintained hot or cold--to prevent growth of disease-producing bacteria.

Excellence awards, given to businesses that maintain high sanitary standards, are awarded to establishments with an overall score of 95% in all inspections within a year.

Currently, each restaurant is inspected an average of 2.8 times a year. The county’s goal is to visit each one three times annually.

“As we make inspections, we will issue the seals,” Ford said. “It will take five months before you see them in virtually every place.”