Most food establishments don’t publicize even their most positive inspection reports, and no government in the Philadelphia region requires that they be tacked up for easy viewing like a menu.
But more are going online. With the new Camden County database that went live Thursday night, the outcome of inspections are now posted for the vast majority of restaurants in the eight-county region.
(From a Philly.com article)Â Â Philadelphia and Bucks, Montgomery and Camden Counties post the actual inspection reports – complete with comments and compliance for dozens of categories – in searchable databases that often contain previous inspections and explanations of the findings.
“Who doesn’t want to know what their children’s cafeteria looks like?” said Carmen G. Rodriguez, the freeholder liaison to the Health Department in Camden County, whose new Web site, like those in the other counties, includes schools.
Still, interpreting the regulatory language of inspection reports for what patrons really want to ask – Is this a safe place to eat? – takes time and patience.
“Cross-contamination and hand-washing violations and temperatures,” thorough cooking, hot foods kept hot and cold foods kept cold – these are the most important risk factors for food-borne illness, said Ben Chapman, a food-safety specialist at North Carolina State University. Dirty bathrooms matter less.
