Los Angeles: Restaurant Grading System Results in Decline in Hospitalization

Los Angeles County's restaurant grading system has resulted in a 13 percent decline in hospitalizations for food-borne disease, a study found. The study, reported in the March issue of the "Journal of Environmental Health," examined hospitalizations from 1993 to 2000. It found that the decrease in hospitalizations was sustained over a three-year period following introduction of the grade cards and revised inspection system. The number of hospitalizations from food-borne illness dropped from 382 in 1997, before the grading program began, to 280 by 2000. From 1997-98 to 2003-04, the percentage of retail food establishments in the county that received an "A" grade increased from 58 percent to 80 percent, the percentage with "B" grades dropped from 26 percent to 18 percent and those with "C" grades fell from 10 percent to 3 percent. The percentage that received less than a "C" grade decreased from 6 percent to three-tenths of 1 percent. The public visibility of the letter grades posted at restaurant entrances has produced an economic incentive for restaurants to improve, the report found, saying that the grading program increased compliance with food-handling and sanitation requirements in restaurants, improved inspection scores restaurants received and influenced consumers' restaurant choices. Source: http://www.presstelegram.com/Stories/0,1413,204%257E21474%257E2756215,00.html