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Home > Blogs > Taste: Dayton food and restaurants > Archives > 2009 > September > 03 > Entry
How clean is your favorite restaurant? Inspection reports now available online
Do your favorite restaurants and grocers follow proper food-handling procedures? How do they perform on health department inspections?
Until this week, the only way to find out the answers to those questions was to travel to the health department — the offices of Public Health — Dayton & Montgomery County — and ask to see the written inspection reports. No more. As of this week, the health department has put those inspection reports online.
“This is done in other areas around the country, although I think we’re the first in the region,” said health department spokesman Bill Wharton.
Public Health officials wanted to give Montgomery County residents convenient access to reports that were already public record on the conditions inside local food-service operations, Wharton said. A side benefit, he added, may be heightened compliance by businesses because the reports will be easily accessible by their customers.
Amy Haverstick, president of the Miami Valley Restaurant Association and co-owner of Jay’s Restaurant, said, “Restaurateurs shouldn’t fear this, because we shouldn’t have anything to hide.” But she did express concern that some of what restaurant inspectors write in such reports could be misconstrued by those not familiar with myriad health regulations.
And even health officials acknowledge that the reports should be read with — well, a grain of salt. Here’s an excerpt of a news release that the health department sent out:
It is important that those looking at the online reports understand that any inspection report is just a snapshot in time. It shows only the conditions of the facility at the time of inspection. A single inspection report should not be used to judge a business. Looking at a facility’s inspection results over a period of time gives a more accurate picture of that facility’s commitment to proper and safe food handling.
The health district’s web site also points out that most violations are “non-critical” and can be corrected while health inspectors are on site, and that violations are found at all types of facilities, from fast-food to fine-dining establishments.
You can search for restaurant and grocer inspections here.
In 2008, Public Health sanitarians conducted more than 7,400 inspections at more than 2,700 facilities, including restaurants, grocery stores, school cafeterias, daycare centers and more, according to the health department’s web site. Food-service establishments in Oakwood are not a part of the database because they are not part of the Public Health district, which covers the rest of Montgomery County.
Permalink | Comments (15) | Post your comment | Categories: Local restaurant news
Comments
By cmpw
September 9, 2009 3:00 PM | Link to this
I understand that they want to put some cautionary statement out about reading these reports, that it’s a snapshot in time. I understand that, but don’t insult me by saying there’s mold in the ice dispenser and that it hasn’t been developing over time, mold doesn’t grow over night people!By cmpw
September 9, 2009 2:55 PM | Link to this
I’m glad they finally did this. I checked the surrounding counties. It seems like Clark & Greene counties go hand in hand, but the only inspection reports I could find were in the city of Springfield, who cares about the rest of the area, huh?By MaryTurner
September 5, 2009 12:41 PM | Link to this
Trust me most restaurants are dirty, especially the older ones. Bags of food on the floor, dirty cooks who eat behind the line while cooking never washing their hands……….disgustingBy BH
September 4, 2009 10:45 AM | Link to this
MONTGOMERY COUNTY FINALLY DOES IT’S JOB! I LIVED IN WICHITA, KS. FROM ‘72-‘77. WE HAD SOME ISSUES WITH INSPECTIONS. THE COUNTY CRACKED DOWN. RESTAURANTS WERE REQUIRED TO POST SIGNS WITH THE INSPECTION LETTER GRADES AND EACH DAY’S INSPECTIONS WERE LISTED ON THE LOCAL NEWS. THIS WAS PRE-INTERNET. RESTAURANTS CLEANED UP THEIR ACTS. MONTGOMERY COUNTY IS 25 YEARS LATE. AGAINBy Droopy Drawers
September 4, 2009 10:17 AM | Link to this
Congratulations Montgomery County! This is a truly useful tool for the consumer. I suggested Greene County do this, and they ignored my suggestion.By mike
September 4, 2009 8:54 AM | Link to this
Abe, your an idiot. EVERY establishment serving food is inspected. What country the owner is from has nothing to do with it, and why would it?By Doug
September 4, 2009 8:49 AM | Link to this
I am amazed that there does not seem to be ant standards for cleaning tables. While at a cafeteria, I watched an employess clean about 15 tables without ever rincing the towel. She was just moving germs from one table to the next.By No Clue
September 4, 2009 8:42 AM | Link to this
I’d be happy if I could sit down at a clean table.By vf7300
September 4, 2009 8:22 AM | Link to this
From reading many of the reports in Huber Heights, the inspectors are not required to pass a spelling test of their job related terms and do not know how to use spell check. It may not be a reflection on the inspection staff education level.By Mark Fisher
September 4, 2009 7:55 AM | Link to this
Chiefwino: Bill Wharton of Montgomery County’s health department said he believed Montgomery was the first county in the region to put these reports online, although I’ll check with surrounding counties today (Friday).By abe
September 4, 2009 6:40 AM | Link to this
hey sal, health inspections dont apply to non-u.s. resident owned restaurants, kind of like taxes.By Sal Monella
September 3, 2009 11:45 PM | Link to this
When I lived in Phoenix the local paper had a weekly posting of how 10 or 20 restaurants ranked by their health department inspections. And every week, the very worst offenders were Mexcican restaurants BY FAR and a distant second was Chinese restaurants. I stopped eating at Mexican restaurants because of their filth. They just don’t seem to understand English or the “rules” of a civilized society. They sure as hell don’t obey our laws!By Frank
September 3, 2009 5:21 PM | Link to this
I wish Ohio would implement a system like California has where the health inspection grade and report gets posted on the window of the restaurant.By chiefwino
September 3, 2009 3:19 PM | Link to this
(I apologize for the typo) Are the reports from other counties (Greene, Butler, Clarke, etc.)available online? If so, can DDN post the links to their sites as well?By chiefwino
September 3, 2009 3:17 PM | Link to this
Are the reports from other counties (Greene, Butler, Clarke, etc.)? If so, can DDN post the links to their sites as well?