Health by the letter

Come July, New York City restaurants will begin adding lettered placards to their front windows. These placards would correspond to the restaurant’s performance on health, hygiene and safety inspections, with a grade of ‘A’ as passing, ‘B’ as passing but less than sanitary, and ‘C’ as a fail. This system is similar to that used in other cities. A Los Angeles Department of Health report found that the system, used extensively in that area, was favored by 91 per cent of people. It also found a 13 per cent decline in food borne illnesses since the implementation of the system.


New York restaurant owners, however, are not so enthusiastic. Many claim that this discriminates against or unfairly hinders business. In reality, however, this new system is no different than one already in place. The New York Department of Health website has statistics and rankings for all New York City restaurants based on the most recent set of inspections. Do most people know this? Probably not.

How are we to interpret this latest caveat on the health and wellness of the City? For a staunch liberal, it might be seen as an intrusion on the rights of business owners. My interpretation, however, is that the new system is simply making sure patrons are properly informed. One cannot proclaim “let the buyer beware” and not ensure they understand the full implications of their actions. Not only does the new restaurant grading system protect patrons, but also minimizes the risk of lawsuit against restaurateurs themselves. It works to tell owners where they must improve, and to tell patrons to enter at their own risk.