When dining out

When dining out, look for the gold star

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.