CleanScores.com - Restaurant hygiene

When eating out in a restaurant, we judge the cleanliness by what we see in the dining area. We assume that if the dining area is a clean then the kitchen is clean too, and vice versa. We would never eat in a restaurant that has cockroaches, dirty towels and raw meet being mishandled around the dining room, just because the dining room is clean does not mean the kitchen is at the same standard. Cleanscores.com has created a great site where actual health inspection ratings are posted in connection to the specific restaurants, keeping potential diners in the know. So far the site covers restaurants that have been inspected in the San Francisco area, and shows their performance graphically and points out their specific flaws. Flaws or violations are categorized into major, moderate and minor violations and listed accordingly. Information is available from past inspections although the information displayed is from the most recent one. The best score is 100 and scores below 80 are listed under "worst locations."

"The Center for Disease Control has estimated that there are more than 76 million cases of foodborne illness in the United States each year. Health department inspections are a vital aspect of our governments' attempts to encourage safe restaurants. But consumers rarely see the results of these inspections. If they did, not only would it help customers identify clean restaurants, but it would create an incentive for restaurants to maintain high hygiene standards."

Ignorance is not bliss when it comes to restaurant hygiene. Some of the bad scores might come as a shock if they concern on your favorite restaurant, but it is better to know and be disappointed than to get sick. If it is a restaurant that you really love, bring this site to the attention of the owner and see if you can provide motivation to make some positive changes.

What is the plan to expand out of San Francisco within the US and globally? This idea could really help travelers in their dining decisions.