San Mateo County to roll out color-coded restaurant rating system in next year

October 8, 2014

San Jose Mercury News

By Bonnie Eslinger

San Mateo County is planning to eventually require restaurants and other eateries to post window placards that rate their health inspection results by the colors green for "pass," yellow for "caution" and red for "closed."

That's likely what the civil grand jury had in mind when it released a report in May giving the health department high overall marks but pointing out a clear rating system needs to be displayed in eating establishments so patrons know whether they should risk dining there.

The placard idea is to be introduced at a community meeting Monday in Foster City and a series of other meetings around the county, including one on Oct. 29 in Redwood City at 455 County Center, from 10 to 11 a.m., and another one on Nov. 5 in North Fair Oaks, Community Activities Building, 1400 Roosevelt Ave., from 3 to 4 p.m. that will be presented in Spanish.

In the next several months, the county also intends to hold sessions with restaurateurs to get their feedback. The supervisors are expected to vote on the proposal in June and, if they approve it, the placards could go up in January 2016.

If a restaurant gets a yellow placard for "caution," that means it has two or more major violations and will be reinspected within three business days.

A red placard would mean the restaurant is "closed" until unsafe conditions are corrected.

The placards would be required in approximately 3,000 food facilities throughout the county, including mobile food trucks, bakeries, schools, licensed health care facilities and some convenience stores.

Under current county law, food establishments are not required to post their inspection reports on windows as long as they're "in a location that is clearly visible and available for review by the general public and patrons entering the establishment." Only half of the eateries complied with that requirement, according to the May grand jury report.

"Our residents should feel confident that they're not risking their health when they eat out," Supervisor Adrienne Tissier said in a written statement. "And this program will allow people to make an informed decision by knowing at a glance which restaurants serve safely prepared food."

Santa Clara County launched a similar placard system earlier this month.

The county will pay for the new color-coded signs, which are estimated to cost about $1 each, according to Director of Environmental Health Heather Forshey.

The program will take more than a year to roll out, so there will be "sufficient time for soliciting feedback from food operators, finalizing details of the program, requesting ordinance language to support the program and training for both food operators and inspection staff," Forshey wrote in an email.

Email Bonnie Eslinger at beslinger@dailynewsgroup.com; follow her at twitter.com/bonnieeslinger.