Some of the best New York City restaurants have been cited for food safety violations.
A restaurant is scored based on how well it follows NYC and New YorkState food safety requirements. When a health inspector visits a restaurant, he or she looks at food handling practices, food temperature, personal hygiene, the cleanliness of the facility, equipment cleaning and maintenance and vermin control (rats, mice, bugs). At the end of the inspection, the inspector totals the points to determine the restaurant’s inspection score—the lower the better.
The points given for a violation depend on the health risk to the public. For example, failing to keep food at the right temperature triggers a minimum of 7 points because it poses a public health hazard.
The inspection score is sometimes converted into a grade. After a first inspection, the restaurant will only get a grade if it is an A (low inspection score because there were few violations). If the restaurant does not earn an A on the first inspection, it’s scored but not graded. An inspector goes back to the restaurant unannounced, typically within a month, to inspect it again. The re-inspection is graded, even if the grade is a B or C, according to the New York City Health Department.
New York City Restaurants with C Grades
According to the NYC Health Department website, several restaurants had C grades. The safety violations for these restaurants varied, and included the following violations that pose the risk for E. coli and Salmonella food poisoning:
- Food not protected from a potential source of contamination (with E. coli, Salmonella or another foodborne pathogen);
- Food contact surfaces not properly washed and sanitized, posing the risk of cross contamination;
- Equipment or utensils not properly sanitized or stored;
- Raw or cooked food that was adulterated, contaminated or not properly discarded;
- An outer garment soiled with a possible contaminant, posing the risk of cross contamination;
- Cold food held above 41 degrees; and
- The presence of mice, roaches or rats.
The named restaurants had one or more of the above safety violations.
Lawyer Provides Free E. coli and Salmonella Case Reviews
Attorney Fred Pritzker is a food safety lawyer who represents E. coli and Salmonella food poisoning victims in lawsuits against restaurants and others. He and his Bad Bug Law Team have won millions for clients.