Milwaukee launches grading system for food establishments: WI Restaurant Association opposes it
Five O’Clock Steakhouse
MILWAUKEE -- The City of Milwaukee Health Department (MHD) joined cities nationwide in launching a grading system for food establishments on Tuesday, January 2nd. Officials started by awarding the first letter grade following a regular inspection at the Five O’Clock Steakhouse, located near 24th and State -- a perfect score.
The Wisconsin Restaurant Association is against the new grading scale, saying it'll cause too much friction between restaurant owners and inspectors -- but soon, every establishment will be required to display the health department's grade based on regular inspections.
Milwaukee’s Food Sanitation Grading System will result in letter grade placards posted at food service establishments citywide, improving how the MHD rates the sanitation of food service establishments and how that information is made available to the public.
"We have a 100-point scale. If you get 79-100, that's an A. If you get 60-78, that's a B and 60 and below is a C and could prompt restaurant closure," Bevan Baker, City of Milwaukee health commissioner said.
Milwaukee Sanitation Grading System
Five O’Clock Steakhouse
Food establishments are usually inspected once a year, with the results posted online. The grades are new this year.
"Cities that have programs like this have been successful in reducing the risk of foodborne illness," Claire Evers, City of Milwaukee Health Department consumer environmental health director said.
Posting of the 'Sanitation Grade' placards is voluntary for the first year. In 2019, posting of letter grade placards will be mandatory.
The executive vice president of the Wisconsin Restaurant Association, which represents nearly 400 restaurant owners in Milwaukee said the system will be unique in Wisconsin, but similar programs are in place in other parts of the country. She said simplifying the complex food safety code down to a three-letter grade isn't a good way to educate the pubic, and she worries it'll strain relations between owners and inspectors.
Susan Quam
"We oppose the use of letter grades or scores as a way to try and oversimplify what is a complex food safety system in a restaurant. What we really are concerned about here is an erosion of positive relations between those regulated by the regulators because now you've created an adversarial relationship," Susan Quam said.
Quam said her group is looking to push legislation in Madison that would create a more uniform code across the state and potentially undo the changes in Milwaukee.