Have you been to one of your favorite Phoenix area restaurants and noticed that they have a certificate on the wall with a silver or gold seal? As of Fall, 2003 there's a new process by which Phoenix restaurants are evaluated for adhering to health regulations.
The Environmental Health Services Division of Maricopa County is responsible for ensuring that the restaurants in the County comply with the Environmental Health Code. The greater Phoenix area is located within Maricopa County. Inspectors visit restaurants, food processors, prisons and jails, food warehouses, bakeries, and school cafeterias to evaluate the food safety practices in these establishments. The inspection of these businesses is conducted in accordance with the State of Arizona Food Code that was adopted last in 2001.
Each food establishment is compared to others in a similar category.
Restaurants and other food handling businesses are issued permits for their specific category, depending on how they process food. For instance, a restaurant that handles and prepares a great deal of raw food that is potentially dangerous will be assigned to a different category than an establishment that deals mostly with pre-packaged food.
Violations are noted
As one might expect, there are major violations and minor ones. Major violations are assigned either 5, 10, 15 or 20 points, with 20 being the worst type of violation. For example, "Persons with discharges from eyes, nose and mouth are not restricted from working with exposed food" is assigned the most points as one of the worst violations. An example of a 15 point violations is, "Food not received in proper condition and temperature." A 10 point violation might be, "Food contact surfaces have not been cleaned and sanitized prior to use." A critical violation is a violation that is more likely than most to present a significant health hazard that could cause contamination or food borne illness. When critical violations are noted during an inspection, they must be corrected immediately or the business is scheduled for a re-inspection.
Minor violations are assigned 3 points or 1 point. Many of these involve cleaning, handwashing, and handwashing supplies and equipment.
Points are tallied
The establishment's score will be determined. A score of zero is the goal--that means that there were no violations of any kind.
Award Certificates
In Maricopa County a food establishment will be issued an Award Certificate showing the inspection results compared to other businesses in the same permit class. Certificates may be posted, but it is not required.
The Department will issue an Award Certificate to each food establishment reflecting its score, and how that establishment’s score compares to others in that category. Establishments in the top 25 percentile, with the best scores (i.e. zero) will receive a Gold seal, the middle 50 percentile will receive a Silver seal and the lower percentile will receive no seal. Again, a score of zero means no violations were found and that establishment receives a Gold seal. An establishment has to score Silver or Gold to receive their first certificate.
See Which Phoenix Area Restaurants Received Gold (Monthly Listing)
