Business & Tech

Health Report: Does Your Favorite Village Eatery Pass the Test?

How do food service establishments fare according to the DuPage County Health Department? Patch shares the results of recent inspections.

No matter how ‘healthy’ you eat, everyone is occasionally guilty of dining out, ordering in, wandering into a drive-thru lane or stopping for a Big Gulp.

The quality, of course, varies depending on where you go. But how often do you contemplate whether a restaurant's staff is carrying out legitimate food prep and sanitation practices?

After hearing a handful of less than glowing customer experiences early this fall, and another few last month, I wanted to find out if any village establishments were actually considered a threat to consumer health. The ensures that restaurants, grocery stores and other related establishments are keeping up with state standards. Inspectors rate establishments based on their compliance to 45 factors ranging from food and chemical storage to staff appearance to properly separated linens.

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Patch obtained 2011 health inspection reports for village food service establishments through a Freedom of Information request. 

Patch found no restaurants have been shut down in the last year for major health violations, and more than a dozen establishments passed an inspection with a perfect score.

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'They got a score of zero--how is that good?'
A report’s end score is expressed in demerits. Inspectors assign the demerit score based on the accrued ‘weight,’ or number of points each violation is worth in terms of its health hazard. In DuPage County, health inspection scores begin at '0' and build up as violations occur.

Some violations prove more hazardous to consumer health than others. Five-point deductions are given for storing food at proper temperatures, cross-contamination, and proper storage of toxic items, while maintaining a litter-free work area garners one point.

However, a good score does not automatically mean an establishment is ‘clean,’ or that violations never occur. Demerits do not reflect everyday maintenance, and sometimes a score simply means an inspector caught them on a good (or bad) day. The Health Department relies on consumers to report unsanitary conditions, and inspectors note when they follow up on a specific complaint.

Scores are likely to fluctuate throughout the year. The dining room was apparently dirty enough for a customer to lodge an official complaint with the Health Department this August, but the restaurant passed the subsequent inspection with a perfect score. A November inspection revealed some storage violations, which were corrected by a follow-up conducted on Dec. 8. (The restaurant once again achieved a zero score.)

 

 

Tomorrow check the list of establishments that received perfect scores, and find out which violations are most common among local eateries.


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