Miles McDonald Food Grades

Its looks like the food industry of New York City is going back to elementary school- and its time for report cards.

In the last decade, New York restaurants have quit smoking, counted calories, and now, distributed grades on sanitation.

This is the result of an announcement in late summer from the New York City Health Department that over 24,000 restaurants around the big apple would be graded their sanitation levels. This system has been enacted in cities such as Los Angeles for over a decade, but it will take over a year to reach all the kitchens of New York’s eateries.

“I never noticed them at first” said Susana Caste, East Village resident. “But now they are everywhere, its impossible to find a place to eat with out a grade these days.”

Restaurants will be graded on an A-B-C procedure. A (highest level of cleanliness) B (passing) and C (failing). The New York City Health Department is requiring all establishments to keep the grades on an 8 by 10 inch card within five feet of the front door, and visible from the exterior.

But is the new system just a little to nit picky? Many workers in the food industry think so. Kendrick Greer, a manager at The Half King restaurant in Chelsea awaits nervously for his restaurant to make good marks.

“We are all biting our nails”, said Greer, “anything can lead to points being deducted. We have had to be extra careful around here. Anything other than an ‘A’ can really hurt business.”

Within the inspection, establishments can be deducted for things such as leaky faucets busted light bulbs, and towels missing from bathrooms.

“No packaged food can be left on the floor”, said Michael Slater, server at the Half King, “it has to be left in government approved crate. The managers have been getting pretty crazy around here.”

Health department associate commissioner Elliott Marcus claims the department hopes to change the criteria for inspection. Pertaining to wet faucets, he says they “make it so that when you close up at night, mice know exactly where to go for a drink.”

The inspections are rated as followed: 0-13 deductions will yield an A, 14-27 a B, and over 28 a C. Restaurants that score below an ‘A’ are permitted to display an ‘Grade Pending’ on their window until second inspection following 30 days.

Or in the case of Ming’s Chinese Take out on 9^th Avenue, you can simply self-evaluate. Although scoring low enough marks to receive a ‘C’ grade in 2009 (this was before the grading system was enacted), the restaurant had an “A” vibrantly displayed behind the counter. City commissioners have heard several complaints of forged letter grades, and claim making an effort to prevent these frauds. For starters, they began printing the reports on thick card stock instead of paper, and used a raised seal on the corners, and are complete with serial numbers specific to the establishment and the person who conducted the inspection. However, restaurants found guilty of posting fake grades can receive fines up to $1000.

A little skeptical of a restaurants displayed grade? Information pertaining to all inspected establishments is available online at the New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s website. You can search for a specific business, or simply type in your area code to find grades for your local neighborhood.

“Personally, I have never seen a ‘C’”, said Alicia Samson, Lower East Side resident. “But I certainly wouldn’t eat at one. Its not safe.”

For eateries that missed the mark, the Department of health offers affordable classes on food safety and sanitation practices, available in several languages, on-site or online.

However, The New York Restaurant Association is not pleased with the recent measures. Already struggling with a bad economy, members believe that the grades are will further damage business.

“Once you’re safe enough to be open, we don’t get what they’re trying to say between an A, B, and a C,” said Rob Bookman, the association’s lawyer.

Restaurants that score a ‘B’ or ‘C’ score do not pose an immediate health risk. The Department of Health closes establishments with hazardous health risks immediately. These new inspections operate on a new level of sanitation, one that is more focused on prevention and the highest level of cleanliness. They are far more thorough than inspections preformed in previous years.

An estimated 11,000 people in New York are hospitalized from food-borne illness every year while dining out. With these inspections, the department hopes to lower these numbers significantly. In Los Angeles, there has been a huge increase in restaurants receiving an ‘A’ grade- 40 percent to 80 percent since the system began in the late 90’s. The introduction of the ABC grading system in Los Angeles County significantly improved the sanitary conditions within local eateries. Also, LA health officials say that incidents of food-borne illness have declined significantly since the system was enacted.

The new regime has managed to seep behind the bar as well. Aside from dirty glasses, few people would find sanitary violations behind the mahogany. However, Jamie Reynolds, a bartender in the Lower East Side says that her establishment has gone through extreme measures to withhold the sanitary standards.

“The bartenders now have to garnish the drinks with individual tongs”, she said. “Sometimes, we used to use expired orange juice for mixed drinks, but now we need to go through every single thing in the bar every two days to make sure it’s fresh. Any minor slip up is a possible citation, we need to be really careful.”

Although those in the service industry are woeful, the public appears to be embracing the system. According to a survey released by ZAGAT, 83 percent of participants stated that they were in favor of the grades.

“This is really important”, said Danielle Zaslovsky, Midtown resident. “As a healthy person and a healthy eater, I need to know how clean my food is.”

Currently, about 30 percent of the city's restaurants would qualify for A grades, 40 percent would get a B and 26 percent would earn a C. Consumers can expect that a greater number of restaurants will receive A’s and B’s once the grading program goes into effect.

Things are changing within the coined “Restaurant Capital of the World”, and they don’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. However, many consumers feel confused rather than helped, and believe the new inspection grading is unnecessary and overcritical.

“I’m not going to eating at my favorite joint because it got a ‘C’”, said Angelina Bagger, East Village resident. “If it doesn’t make me sick, then it’s probably fine. Everyone is so paranoid these days.”