Per Se is one of NYC's "Golden Apples."
photo: Scott Whittle Photography
Beginning July 2010, New York City’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene will follow the lead of Los Angeles by requiring restaurants to display health-inspection letter grades in their front windows. With salmonella outbreaks popping up regularly in the news these days, it’s not a surprising move, especially when you consider that LA’s system seems to be working. A recent New York Times story reported that since the city introduced letter grades in 1998, there have been fewer incidences of food-borne illness – and that the number of A-grade restaurants rose from 40% in ’98 to 83% in 2007.
The plan aims to keep diners informed and motivate restaurants to stay clean. One proponent of the system, New York State Senator Jeff Klein, thinks it will “provide a real incentive for restaurants with a ‘C’ hanging in the doorway to clean up their act.” To make sure that happens, establishments with lower grades will be inspected with greater frequency (i.e. “A” restaurants will be inspected once a year, “B” restaurants twice and “C” restaurants three times). The DOH inspects nearly 25,000 eating establishments a year –
from street carts to upscale restaurants – and despite the recession, the city
aims to add 50 inspectors to its existing team of 116 to keep pace.
Much of the existing system will remain unchanged, however, including the actual inspection process, which will still use numerical scores as the basis for letter grades (though exactly how they'll be converted is still being decided). The DOH website currently lists every restaurant’s inspection history – last year the site was searched up to 19,000 times a month. A score of 28 or higher is considered a failing mark and mandates a further compliance inspection. On the other hand, there are a few restaurants with perfect scores, including Per Se and, believe it or not, White Castle in Jackson Heights. To salute these high-scorers, the DOH awards a “Golden Apple” designation for businesses that repeatedly receive good marks.
Five Rules From the NYC DOH Food Protection Manual
1. Cooked chicken and turkey meat used in salads must be submerged in boiling water or stock and then refrigerated after being removed from the bone.
2. It is strictly prohibited to sell shellfish of any kind from a pushcart or other mobile vending operation in New York.
3. Whole frozen poultry must be thawed before being cooked, although a single portion may be cooked from the frozen state.
4. Though there are specifications for how long and at what temperatures meats should be cooked, a customer request can trump those rules.
5. Towels are never to be used for drying dishes, because they can cause contamination.
The city also provides tools to help restaurateurs achieve a clean bill of health, including a food protection course that covers everything from reheating meats to washing hands. Every restaurant must have an employee who has completed the course on the premises at all times.
But being prepared doesn’t guarantee a stress-free inspection. “Restaurants aren’t exactly excited to see you when you come in,” admits health inspector Corey Williams. Each visit begins the same way: the inspector arrives and notifies the manager, disclosing whether the search is routine or related to a specific complaint. Then the inspection moves to the kitchen and throughout the restaurant. “We talk to the head chef about the menu,” explains Williams; “[We check] for anything that might look strange, while watching to see the general sanitary practices in the kitchen.” The full inspector’s worksheet covers everything from the temperature of the fridge to the tiniest signs of insect infestation.
Roughly 90 minutes later, depending on the scale of the operation, the inspector prints out a report and heads to the next establishment (three to four restaurants are typically covered per shift). While there are undoubtedly poor performances, the truly horrific stories are the exception rather than the rule. “Sure, everybody always has horror stories – hair in the food, mice, dead rats, live rats – I’ve seen it all,” emphasizes Williams. “But those places we close. There’s no reason for them to be serving food.” Disgruntled restaurateurs can challenge the findings at an administrative tribunal.
Surprisingly, one thing that may be helping restaurants stay clean is the recession, as owners trying to mind the bottom line take care of their inventories. “There is a lot less food, less junk,” says Williams. “In the basements where there used to be seven full shelves, now there will be maybe four.”
– Garth Johnston