Restaurants in New York City have made significant improvements in terms of sanitation, cleanliness and safety. According to the Department of Health’s report card, 93% of the 24,000 restaurants in the city earned an “A” rating. This is in comparison to the 81% of restaurants that received the “A” rating the first year.
The Health Department provides food safety education workshops that are organized in partnership with the city’s Borough Presidents. Participants will review how to prepare and handle food safely, avoid common Health Code violations and learn about recent updates to the Health Code. According to Michael Jacobson, president of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, “the New York City Health Department continues to have a model restaurant-inspection system that safeguards public health and creates strong incentives for restaurants to keep their kitchens clean.”
There has been a sharp decline in the number of health violations. Such violations include cases of roaches, mice and salmonella. The Health Department says the cases of salmonella has decreased 32% since 2010.
“Restaurant letter grading has been an unqualified success for both New York City restaurants and diners,” said Health Commissioner Dr. Mary T. Bassett. “New York City restaurants are performing better than ever and New Yorkers should feel confident about eating in an “A” grade restaurant.”
Drops in violations:
- Food not held cold enough: 2009, 29% | 2017, 18%
- Roaches: 2009, 9% | 2017, 5%
- Mice: 2009, 32% | 2017 18%
- Poor hand wash facility: 2009, 9% | 2017, 3%
- No trained food safety supervisor on site: 2009, 12% | 2017, 7%
New York City diners can use the grading system when making their dining choices and feel more confident in eating at an “A” graded restaurant. To obtain the grade for a restaurant go to NYCDOH Restaurant Inspection Information.
