Restaurant Records Now Smartphone-Ready

A new mobile website for smartphones will tell Marin County users about the health inspection track record of a restaurant before they scan a menu and place an order.

The Food Program of the County’s Environmental Health Services (EHS) Division evaluates risks to public health and routinely checks local eating establishments for violations of the health code.

“Our new mobile app makes the information that much more accessible,” said Rebecca Ng, deputy director of EHS. “When considering a place to dine, in addition to how good the food is, people want to know about the facility’s food preparation and sanitation practices. When you’re out, the new mobile app will make it as easy to check this information as if you were at home on a PC or laptop.”

Evaluations of food facilities include the knowledge level of an operator, employee health and hygiene, food-handling practices and facility sanitation. Other data available includes dates of inspections, inspector comments and a list of code violations. The risk to consumers increases as the number of the facility’s violations increases. Violations are designated as major critical, minor critical or noncritical.

Mobile users on www.marinfoodinspection.org can search by business name to see a restaurant’s track record. On the main website, users also can type in a business name, a street name, a city, a ZIP code or any combination of that information to search for results. The site will automatically display a mobilized version if the user is on a mobile device and also provide a link to see the full desktop version.

In addition to routine inspections, EHS staff responds to health and safety complaints including reports of food-borne illnesses associated with a food facility. The staff works to prevent the occurrence of food-borne illnesses, promote hygienic food preparation and protect the health of the food workers by encouraging safe and sanitary working conditions.