Image taken from The New York Times
Thursday’s New York Times reported that the city is planning on instituting a program to reinforce restaurant health standards. The new program will require hiring some 50 inspectors — adding to the current roster of 117, of whom 60 are focused on restaurants — at a cost of nearly $5 million over two years…
It will also go from numerical scores to letter grades. The letter grade system has been in use in Los Angeles County for over a decade.
Chef-restauranteur, Bobby Flay had this to say to the New York Times about the new proposal: “I think the letter grading is probably a good system,”…“But if a restaurant gets a bad grade due to a paperwork technicality, the consumer will be misled.”
I’m in favor of this proposal. While I fully concede that restaurants may need somewhat of an adjustment period for this process, I view this plan as a concrete mechanism for upholding higher health standards. It informs the consumer and gives restaurants an even greater stake in meeting health standards. In the long run it will benefit everyone. What are your thoughts?
For the full story in the New York Times, click on the image above.
