Down and out in Boston
ANYONE ATTEMPTING a quick check on the health records of local eateries in Boston and many other communities around the state might find themselves starved for accurate, up-to-date information. And in some cases, what diners don't know could hurt them.
On Sunday, the Globe published a review of health code violation data from 2004-2006, conducted by students from Northeastern University's graduate seminar in investigative reporting. It revealed widespread violations, ranging from rodent infestations to poor hygiene practices by staffers. And consumers didn't necessarily fare better by frequenting restaurants with trendy or venerable reputations, as evidenced by the problems uncovered at the Federalist, Mistral, and the Union Oyster House, to name just a few.
Dining out in Massachusetts shouldn't be a game of chance where the losers can walk away with food poisoning. Aggressive attention to standards at the state level and consistent enforcement by health authorities are the best ways to protect the public. Currently, such efforts are erratic. This spring, state auditor Joseph DeNucci reviewed 13 local health authorities and found that 11 were not complying with federal and state standards on frequency of restaurant inspections. And when inspections are done, there is no guarantee that the findings will be shared with the public in an easy-to-use format.
Restaurants live and die by word-of mouth. But health officials don't always use that fact to good advantage. Boston employs only 18 inspectors for 4,799 food establishments. But the city could get more restaurants to comply with the rules voluntarily if they knew their would-be patrons could easily see the results of restaurant check-ups. Yet Mayor Menino's "Food Court" on the city's Health Division website is meager fare. The search tool for specific restaurants is clumsy. If lucky enough to stumble on the target, the searcher finds only vague and unsatisfying information on violations. Inspectional Services Commissioner Bill Good predicts that useful, timely information should be available online in as little as six weeks.
Traditional southern cooking may be high in sugar and fat. But the folks at the Georgia Department of Human Resources have removed a lot of the worry when it comes to dining out. All restaurants there are required to post a prominent sign with the numerical score from the latest health inspection. By year's end, letter grades will be added to a sheet that already includes a point system for staff hygiene, food temperature control, date marking, supervisory skills, techniques to prevent food contamination, and other key indicators. Diners in Massachusetts would benefit from similar transparency.
Absent an army of restaurant inspectors, the best course is to give diners themselves easy-to-digest information.
