Pierce County Health Department Announces New Food Safety Ratings

GIG HARBOR, WA — The Tacoma - Pierce County Health Department has announced a major overhaul of their food rating safety system, and one that they hope will help the public easily understand how each business has been rated.

When a restaurant is rated for safety, health inspectors weigh a total of 50 risk factors— all are important for determining if food is safe to eat, but it's too much information for the average consumer who just wants to know if it's safe or not. So, to keep the rating process simple, the health department has announced a new system that sorts ratings into three categories: Great, OK, and Needs to Improve.

The system is reminiscent of a rating system adopted by King County in 2018, using similar smiley faces and color coding to make the food safety inspection ratings as distinct as possible.

The health department says the signs were designed with three goals in mind: simplicity for consumers, encouraging and rewarding safe food practices for businesses, and reducing any food-related illnesses and outbreaks.

It will be some time before residents start to see these posted in restaurant windows, however. Organizers say the pandemic has forced them to take it slow, and they're releasing a preliminary timeline for their rollout:

• Late 2020: Begin educating the public about the signs and what each rating means.
• January - December 2021: share the rating system and process with food establishments during routine safety inspections.
• February 2022: All permitted food establishments begin posting their food safety rating signs. The health department says that includes all restaurants, food trucks, schools and any other food services.

Before they get too far into that process, however, the health department says they want to make sure the signs are as informative and helpful as possible. They've launched an online survey asking the public what they think about the signs and what they could improve.