How restaurant health inspections and grades work in US cities

There is no national restaurant grade in the US. Health inspections are run by city and county health departments, and each one shows results differently: New York City posts A, B or C letter grades, Los Angeles County posts letter grades based on a 100-point score, and Chicago reports pass, pass with conditions or fail. Knowing which system you are looking at tells you what a sign in the window really means.

Who inspects restaurants in the US?

Restaurant food safety is mostly handled locally. The FDA publishes a model Food Code, and states, counties and cities adopt their own version of it and send their own inspectors. Inspections are usually unannounced. Inspectors look at food temperatures, food handling, staff hygiene, equipment, cleaning and signs of pests. How the results are shown to the public is a local decision, which is why the system changes from one city to the next.

How do New York City restaurant grades work?

New York City's health department inspects its restaurants regularly. Each violation earns points, and the lower the score, the better. The score decides the grade: a low score earns an A, a middling one a B and a high one a C. A restaurant gets two chances to earn an A in each inspection cycle: if it does not earn an A on the first inspection, the score stands but no grade is given, and an inspector returns unannounced for a graded re-inspection.

If the result is a B or C, the restaurant receives the grade card and a Grade Pending card, and it may post the Grade Pending card until it has had a hearing at the city's health tribunal. So Grade Pending in a window can mean a restaurant is newly open or that it is contesting a lower grade.

How do Los Angeles County restaurant grades work?

Los Angeles County scores restaurants out of 100, deducting points for each violation. A high score earns an A, and lower scores earn a B or a C. A restaurant scoring very low posts its numeric score instead of a letter, and a facility that keeps failing can be closed. The grade card must be posted near the entrance where you can see it as you walk in. Some cities inside the county run their own health departments, so check which system applies where you are eating.

How do Chicago restaurant inspections work?

Chicago does not use letters. An inspection ends in a result such as Pass, Pass w/ Conditions or Fail. Pass means no critical or serious violations were found. Pass with conditions means critical or serious violations were found but corrected during the inspection. Fail means the problems were serious enough to need a follow-up. Chicago publishes inspection results on its open data portal, so you can look up a restaurant's history before you go.

Do other US cities grade restaurants?

Many do, but in different ways. Some post numeric scores, some use color-coded placards, and many publish results online without any sign in the window. Rules and formats change from time to time, so the most reliable step is to search for the local health department's restaurant inspection page in the city you are visiting.

What does a lower grade actually mean?

A B or C does not mean a restaurant will make you sick, and an A does not guarantee it will not. A grade is a snapshot of one inspection on one day. Points can come from serious problems, such as food held at unsafe temperatures, or from structural issues such as a worn floor. If a grade worries you, look up the full report, which usually lists each violation. A pattern of serious violations over several inspections tells you more than one letter.

How do you look up a restaurant's inspection history?

• New York City: the city's health department publishes restaurant inspection results and grades online.
• Los Angeles County: the county public health department publishes scores and grades.
• Chicago: results are on the Chicago Data Portal.
• Elsewhere: search for the county or city health department name plus restaurant inspections.

What do inspectors usually find?

Common violations include food held at the wrong temperature, poor handwashing, food stored uncovered or too close to the floor, and signs of pests. Some of these are treated as critical because they can directly cause illness, while others, such as a cracked tile or a missing thermometer, are maintenance problems. Inspection reports usually say which is which. A restaurant can usually fix many problems on the spot, and the report records that too. When reading a report, focus on critical violations, especially temperature control and pests, and on whether the same problems come back inspection after inspection.

Should a grade decide where you eat?

Use it as one signal among several. A clean grade combined with good food reported by people who ate there is a strong sign. Mosey lets you rate the places you ate at and the dishes you ordered, with photos, and see where friends you follow went, which adds the part an inspection report does not cover: whether the food was any good.

More guides to read next:

• Why the price on a US menu is not what you pay
• Park City and Ogden food guide: two Utah mountain towns
• Provo and Moab food guide: a college town and a desert town

More in the US food guides and the ranked lists of places.