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When dining out, look for the gold star
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September 11, 2012 |
Starting this month, a certificate with a bright
gold star will help diners in the five northern
counties recognize food establishments for
excellence in food safety. The recognized
establishments have met all the state’s
standards of excellence for health and safety
during their last regular inspection.
Panhandle Health District’s (PHD) food safety
program created the Food Safety Award of
Excellence for those establishments that finish
their annual health and safety inspection with
no violations.
“They can post these certificates where their
customers can see them,” said Kristina Keating,
coordinator of PHD’s food program. “We can’t
wait for the public to notice.”
This award’s two goals are to recognize the hard
work establishments do every day to deliver safe
and healthy food and to encourage all
establishments to strive for excellence.
PHD visits about 1,300 restaurants, stores,
schools and more annually that serve perishable
food to the public to check that they are
complying with state standards that help prevent
food-borne outbreaks. Food establishments have
49 standards to meet, from the temperature of
their refrigerators to how they handle their
garbage.
Only permanent facilities are eligible for PHD’s
award.
PHD will grant 400 awards in September to
establishments it visited since the beginning of
2012. Facilities that have no award to show off
may have a PHD visit scheduled later this year
or, for those establishments that have been
inspected, may have work to do to meet all
standards.
PHD will award certificates each month after
September to facilities it visited that month.
To see a food establishment’s inspection record,
visit
www.phd1.idaho.gov and click on Restaurant
Inspections at the bottom of the QuickLinks
menu. Entering a restaurant name will produce
the latest inspection result. Click again on the
restaurant name for a more accurate inspection
history.
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