The goal of food inspections is to prevent food borne illness. Environmental Health is required to use a grading system to indicate how well food service operators are fulfilling their responsibility to prevent food borne illnesses (This grading system is only applicable to those food facilities located in cities that have adopted Ordinance #97-0071 or in the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County). The grade or score your food establishment receives reflects the status of your establishment at the time of the inspection.
Each food inspection begins with 100 points. As a health inspector conducts an inspection, the appropriate sub-categories in Section I - III on the FOIR will be marked. The categories in Sections I and II and the sub-categories in Section III have been assigned a specific point value based on the associated public health risk of the violation. This point value is deducted from the 100 points. To determine your establishment`s grade, your health inspector must first add all the point deductions of the marked violation categories in Section I-II and the sub-categories in Section III then subtract that total from the 100 points. (Refer to Understanding the Food Official Inspection Report for more detailed explanations of these three sections.)

Beginning of the Inspection 100 points
Total Points Deducted - __________
Remaining Points Grade or Score

A grade card (A, B, C) or a score card will be issued at the end of the inspection based on the remaining points:

90 to 100 points A Generally superior in food handling practices and overall food facility maintenance.
80 to 89 points B Generally good in food handling practices and overall food facility maintenance.
70 to 79 points C Generally acceptable in food handling practices and overall general food facility maintenance.
0 to 69 points Score Poor food handling practices and overall general food facility maintenance.

There are situations as determined by your health inspector that would make it necessary for you to close your operation immediately because of an immediate danger to the public`s health and safety. In those situations, your Public Health Permit will be suspended and a Notice of Closure* will be posted. This closure sign must remain posted until the facility permit is reinstated. This action does not affect the grade or score of the facility but is related to the conditions that warranted the closure (sewage, no hot water, the presence of cockroaches or rodents, etc.).

Food Safety Associates can help obtain and keep an “A” rating.

* If your city has not adopted Ordinance #97-0071, you will not be issued any grade/score cards, and a Notice of Closure will not be posted.