New Food Guidelines Will Require Restaurants to Post Inspection Scores

Changes to the food code in St. Peters may make it easier for residents to see how a restaurant scored on recent health inspections. 

St. Peters is considering adopting the latest Federal Drug Administration food guidelines, which give local food service establishments guidance on safe food preparation and handling practices.

The new guidelines would require the health inspection sheets to be posted for all to see. Now, the food code only requires the restaurants to make inspection sheets available upon request, said Cheryl Hanks-Sinecki, director of Health and Recycling Services for St. Peters.

The city is now operating under state guidelines that were last issued in 1999. The FDA guidelines were last revised in 2009, but have received additional tweaks each year, Hanks-Sinecki said.

Both St. Charles County and St. Louis County have adopted the FDA guidelines. St. Charles County inspects restaurants and food service establishments throughout St. Charles County, except for the city of St. Peters.

The St. Peters Board of Aldermen is expected to vote on adopting the 2009 FDA guidelines in April, Hanks-Sinecki said.

"It's much more user-friendly for restaurant owners and food services businesses," she said. "It explains in more details what is a critical violation."

Critical violations are those that could do immediate harm to diners, such as food not being served at a correct temperature. The new health inspection forms have a place for health inspectors to note the actual temperature of the food. 

Critical violations will appear in red on the form.

"It will be much easier to see if restaurants have no critical violations," Hanks-Sinecki said. 

Hanks-Sinecki said the city is going through a personnel change, which is why the most recent food inspection reports posted are from November. 

"In my mind they should be done at minimum weekly when we get them," she said. 

In addition, the city is considering posting the full reports online, instead of just posting the score. St. Louis County posts restaurant inspections online in a searchable database. St. Charles County posted the full reports online for a 6 month period in 2011, but no longer does so. 

St. Charles County which people with smart phones can scan that will take them to the restaurant's most recent food inspection score.

Another idea under consideration in St. Peters is to include a box on the inspection report for whether the health establishment is smoking or nonsmoking. 

The health inspectors have to know whether a restaurant is smoking or nonsmoking to know which part of the codes apply, Hanks-Sinecki said.

But the city does not routinely collect and publish that information because some business owners fear people may not want to go to the restaurant if they know whether smoking is offered, Hanks-Sinecki said. 

"It may be something we consider adding," she said. 

Meetings Planned

St. Peters plans to hold informational meetings about the new food guidelines. Meetings will be held at the Performing Arts Center in St. Peters City Hall. Meetings are scheduled for:

• 4:30 p.m. Sunday, April 7
• 9 a.m. Monday, April 8
• 2 p.m. Thursday April 11

You may be interested in these additional stories:

• St. Charles County Restaurant Inspection Roundup
• Check out Restaurants Before You Eat