Placard Grading System for Hawaii Food Establishments
Full plate of new rules on the menu
Officials will visit all dining establishments to explain tougher policies before enforcement begins
A new wide-ranging set of food safety rules went into effect Monday for some 10,000 restaurants, lunch wagons and food establishments in Hawaii, but the state Health Department will not begin enforcement until June.
Peter Oshiro, state environmental health program manager, said inspectors will visit every food establishment in the state to explain the new rules before enforcing regulations that require everything from gloves for those who handle food to patron notification of the risk of eating raw and undercooked food.
Other regulation highlights include higher permit fees and a new grading system that will require establishments to post the results of their last state inspection.
"This puts us in a much better position to fight foodborne illness," Oshiro said.
The last significant rule changes in Hawaii came nearly 17 years ago, and those were based on federal food safety rules developed in 1975. The new Hawaii rules are based on the 2009 U.S. Food and Drug Administration model food code.
Tom Frigge, a board member of the 500-plus-member Hawaii Restaurant Association, said the new rules are long overdue.
"It's good that Hawaii residents can confidently eat food in a restaurant at long last," said Frigge, who advises restaurants on food safety. "Ninety percent of the country has already adopted the FDA model food code. Our rules are 40 years old. A lot of science and research has happened since then."
The new color-coded grading system will consist of green, yellow and red placards. A green "pass" placard will be awarded to restaurants that have one major violation or less that is corrected prior to completion of the inspection.
A yellow "conditional pass" placard will be issued for two or more major violations during an inspection regardless of whether the violations are corrected on site. Major violations require a follow-up inspection, which will take place the next working day after notification from the establishment that all major violations have been corrected.
A red "closed" placard will be issued if there are imminent health hazards that warrant immediate closure. Such hazards include a lack of water or electricity, sewage overflows in food preparation areas, sick employees and vermin infestation.
Oshiro said the placards must be placed in a highly visible location, such as on the front door or by the cashier.
The fee increase, which will raise the average yearly cost for a permit to $200 from $46, will pay for 13 additional full-time inspectors who will support an expanded inspection schedule that will include a minimum of three on-site inspections each year for most restaurants, two for medium-risk establishments such as fast-food restaurants and annual visits for all other establishments.
Previously, restaurants averaged only about one inspection every two years, and Hawaii's rate of major violations was considered high, with 60 percent to 70 percent of all restaurants racking up multiple major violations, Oshiro said. He said the department is aiming to lower the violation rate to between 10 percent and 20 percent.
Major health inspection violations, such as lack of hand washing, poor temperature controls and contamination by raw/uncooked food, are conditions that the FDA recognizes as the main causes of food illnesses.
The department introduced the new food safety regulations at statewide public hearings in early December.
Only 13 people testified, Oshiro said.
