THUNDER BAY — The Thunder Bay District Health Unit is working on revisions to its DineWise food safety grading system, including disclosing inspection outcomes online.
The two-year-old program requires letter grades (A,B,C or D) to be posted at restaurant entrances, showing patrons how a business performed in its most recent food safety inspection.
TBDHU officials aren't discussing details, but say they plan to implement the changes to the system in the coming months.
Revisions will bring DineWise in line with recent amendments to the Ontario Food Premises Regulation.
The amendments cover a number of areas including food handler training, food temperature control, and sanitizing equipment.
The TBDHU, one of 36 public health units in the province, implemented DineWise in 2017.
Other health units across Ontario began publicly disclosing restaurant inspection outcomes as early as 2001, and by last year only half a dozen still weren't doing so.
In addition to what it's calling a new "online disclosure portal," the TBDHU plans to expand DineWise beyond the City of Thunder Bay to communities in the district.
Last August, the health unit released statistics showing a dramatic increase in the percentage of local restaurants qualifying for an A grade.
During the pilot stage in early 2017, it said, only 42 per cent received an A, but by the end of that year that had risen to 87 per cent.
"The standard now, due to public pressure, is really at an A grade," said Lee Sieswerda, the TBDHU's manager of environmental health.
The most recent data showed that restaurants were committing an average of four critical infractions—indicating high potential to contribute to food poisoning—per 100 inspections, down from 30 critical infractions during the pilot period.
Only 1.4 per cent of about 900 food premises that were inspected received a C or D grade.
According to information provided this week to Tbnewswatch, the TBDHU database from March 2018 to present shows the distribution of DineWise grades to be as follows:
- A - 816
- B - 79
- C - 3
- D - 2
A spokesperson explained that health unit inspectors visit restaurants on a frequency based on risk assessment, which in turn varies, based mainly on the type of food preparation they are involved with, and whether they are seasonal or year-round.
High-risk food premises require three annual inspections, whereas those considered at lowest risk only require one visit per year.
Since DineWise was inaugurated in Thunder Bay, some restaurants have only been graded once, while others have been graded six or more times.
Some businesses have seen their ratings change, either up or down, on multiple occasions from one inspection to the next.
