As many as a quarter of Americans suffer a food-borne illness each year — though only a fraction of those cases get linked to high-profile outbreaks like the recent salmonella-peanut scare, according to a new report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” as revealed by the Associated Press.
And yet the Orange County Board of Supervisors decided to vote against a restaurant rating system proposed by both the Orange County Health Department and the Orange County Grand Jury.
Scientists have counted more than 250 food-related types of illness — from viruses to bacteria to parasites. Most common are Norwalk-like viruses — famous for sickening cruise-ship passengers. They account for about two-thirds of known food-poisoning cases, according to the CDC.
How many Americans get food poisoning every year? Current numbers must be close to 87 million cases, 371,000 hospitalizations and 5,700 deaths, according to an Associated Press calculation that used the CDC formula and current population estimates.
And our Supervisors voted against a ratings system that works very well in Los Angeles County. Don’t forget – Supervisor Janet Nguyen was the deciding vote against the ratings. As we revealed here at the Orange Juice, her husband co-owns a restaurant, along with her Chief of Staff, which has received major County health violations. And many of Nguyen’s supporters own restaurants that have received similar violations.
So the Supervisors voted against the public interest – and at least one of them did so for very selfish reasons. I have said this before but it bears repeating. It is a matter of time before someone dies in Orange County, after eating at a local restaurant that has no rating, thanks to Supervisor Nguyen and her peers on the Board of Supervisors. Soon enough they will have blood on their hands!
Is there any actual evidence that a ratings system “works very well”?
The Supervisors made the right choice. Either a restaurant is safely serving food to the public or it isn’t. If it isn’t, it’s right to serve food is suspended.
I’ve always wondered when going into a restaurant with a grade on the door, what is the difference between an “A” and a “B”? Does an “A” restaurant serve food safely 90% of the time and a “B” 80% of the time?
Seriously, I like the A,B,C System, if a place has an F, I should know about it and be able to eat there if I want to! Or at leat go there for carry out for the inlaws!