28 THE COURIER SUN • HEALTH • JULY 2, 2015 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.couriersun.com health Restaurant grades are a hit with residents BY THE QUEENS COURIER STAFF [email protected] @queenscourier The city Health Department’s grading system for the city’s eateries is a hit with the public, according to the agency. In July 2010, the Health Department began requiring restaurants in all fi ve boroughs to post letter grades summarizing their sanitary inspection scores. Five years later, restaurants are performing better on inspection and are cleaner than they have ever been. The program has had a positive impact on restaurant hygiene, food-safety practices, and public awareness. Today, 95 percent of the city’s 24,000 restaurants now post an A grade, the number of critical violations has decreased, and more restaurant supervisors have completed the Health Department’s food protection course. “Over the last fi ve years, restaurant letter grading has successfully motivated restaurants to practice better food safety,” said Health Commissioner Dr. Mary T. Bassett. “You see this as you walk down any street in the City. The large number of A grades that are proudly displayed means that restaurants are attaining excellent compliance with food safety regulations, which has reduced the likelihood of foodborne illness and made dining out safer for all New Yorkers. More restaurants than ever before are earning A grades at the beginning of their inspection cycle, meaning they pay no fi nes and are only inspected once a year. Reportedly: • 58 percent of restaurants now earn an A on their initial inspection, an increase from 37 percent in the fi rst year of letter grading. • Restaurants also are achieving A grades on re-inspection at a higher rate than ever before. • Fifty-eight percent of those scoring in the B range on their initial inspection now earn an A upon re-inspection, an improvement from 38 percent in the fi rst year of letter grading. • Restaurants that score in the C range on their initial inspection also improved upon re-inspection, with 45 percent subsequently earning an A. In the fi rst year of letter grading, only 28 percent made that same improvement. The improvements in grades are due to better practices in important food safety areas. • There has been an 18 percent decrease in restaurants cited for evidence of mice compared to the year before the start of grading. • Other critical violations, such as inadequate hand washing facilities, foods being kept at the wrong temperature, inadequate worker hygiene and unsanitary equipment, have also declined. • The number of restaurants temporarily closed following an inspection has decreased, from a rate of 5.67 percent in FY11 to 4.84 in FY14. In FY11 1,322 restaurants were closed. In FY14 only 1,208. Restaurants have seen fi nancial relief by way of reduced fi nes. • Despite a more than two-fold increase in the number of inspections, fi nes are now lower than they were before the grading program began. This is due to better performance at inspections and the new fi xed fi ne schedule implemented last year in coordination with New York City Council. • The more than 24,000 restaurants paid a total of $26.8 million in penalties to date in Fiscal Year 2015, an 18 percent decline over the same period last year. • The median restaurant fines levied were 82 percent less in FY15 than FY14. The number of restaurant supervisors completing the food protection course has increased each year since letter grading went into effect. • One of the best investments a restaurant can make is to train its staff in food safety practices. Just over 25,000 supervisors took the course in 2010, while 31,500 were trained in 2014, an increase of 26 percent. As food safety practices have improved, we’ve seen a drop in Salmonella cases. • Between 2010 (the last year before grading) and 2014, there has been a 24 percent decline in Salmonella cases reported to the Health Department. Letter grading is extremely popular among New Yorkers. • According to a 2012 survey conducted by Baruch College at the City University of New York, 91 percent of New Yorkers approve of restaurant grading, 88 percent use grades in making their dining decisions and 76 percent feel more confi dent eating in an A-grade restaurant. Medicare Advantage and Long Term Care Plans • Medicare Advantage Plans - Designed to meet the needs of individuals with Medicare and those with both Medicare and Medicaid. 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