TAMPA, FL -- Steve Mifsud works hard seven days a week to keep his restaurant clean and up to code. Mifsud has owned Steve's Place in New Port Richey for over a decade.
"Who wants to eat in a dirty place? That's sad," Mifsud said.
He believes a posted grade that reflects an eatery's performance on their most recent inspection report helps educate the customer and put pressure on the owner to clean up their act.
"It keeps the people that run the restaurant on the ball because they know hey, if I get a bad grade or a bad percentage, it's going to show and people are going to see it and if people see it, that's going to hurt you," Mifsud said.
The idea is nothing new. Several states and cities around the country already post grades on restaurant doors, including California, Texas, New York and Las Vegas. Other cities like Boston, Chicago, Denver and Philadelphia are beginning to post scores on-line.
But Bill veach, the Director of the Division of Hotels and Restaurants and the man in charge of all restaurant inspections says grading is useless.
"We're not coming back again for six months if we're lucky - that grade is still there," Veach said.
He went on to say, "Grading does very little or nothing. There's no scientific evidence to show that grading makes the public safer. In fact if anything, it can have the inverse effect."
But former health inspector Roy Costa disagrees.
"I would suggest that Mr. Veach do a little bit more research because when Los Angeles County instituted grading, they saw a market reduction in foodborne illness," Costa said.
Costa is talking about a recent study in January of this year by the L.A. County Department of Public Health.
That study found the grading system in L.A. County resulted in a 20-percent decrease in the number of food-related hospitalizations.
It also found that when Los Angeles County started posting grades, the restaurant scores began to dramatically improve. Within a year, restaurants receiving an "A" grade went from 25% to 50%.
"That one force within the industry will radically change what we see today in sanitation," Costa said.
But Veach argues, a customer can go online to find that same information.
"When the consumer goes on our web page to look up that report, it will clearly state, this restaurant met inspection standards, or this restaurant did not meet inspection standards," Veach said.
However, with the difficulty of navigating the state's website and analyzing the complex information, many consumers may become either famished or frustrated!
"How many people are actually going to say, 'OK, let's go out to eat but hang on, let me get on the computer and see how this place did.' That ain't gonna happen," Mifsud said.
Costa agrees, saying "This system just simply doesn't work."
But the man in charge claims the inspection process in restaurants works just fine.
"I do feel it's safe to eat out. I eat in a restaurant almost every day," Veach said.
