by arthur Weinreb,
august 5, 2004
a food court in Toronto’s Chinatown was closed down in June by Toronto Public Health. all six food outlets in the court were ordered shut when city health inspectors found cockroach infestations, rodent droppings, sanitation violations and various other health infractions. One month later the order was lifted and the restaurants were allowed to reopen.
Back on January 8, 2001, Toronto Bylaw 574-2000 came into effect requiring restaurants and food stores to be graded. Placards had to be placed in a prominent position at the entrance to the establishment and they were coloured green, yellow or red, indicating a pass, conditional pass or fail, respectively. The rating system was brought into use with a great flourish.
Toronto City Council passed the bylaw after a series of newspaper articles entitled "Dirty Dining" was written by the Toronto Star’s Robert Cribb. Cribb showed in a succession of investigative pieces that many of the city’s eateries and food stores were far from being up to snuff.
Shortly before the bylaw came into effect, the Ontario Restaurant Hotel and Motel association unsuccessfully sought an injunction to prohibit the requirement to post the rating signs. While there was no objection to the "failing" grade that meant that the premises in question had to be closed, the yellow or conditional pass was a bone of contention. The restauranteurs argued that people that saw the conditional pass would think that the restaurant had major health problems when in fact a conditional pass meant only that there was a minor infraction. If the management could resolve the problem quickly and be issued with a pass, that green pass would indicate that there had been a prior problem, discouraging many from patronizing the establishment even though there were currently no problems.
That was then and this is now. although the media gave a great deal of coverage to the Chinatown food court and there has been the odd report of health act violations since the grading system was introduced, there does not now, if indeed there ever was, seem to be major problems concerning restaurant compliance with health standards.
Concerning the Chinatown food court, city of Toronto food inspector, Jim Chan, was quoted in the Toronto Star as saying, "Because they were given warnings, conditional passes and charges, the only alternative is now closure". In the year that the grading system was brought in, Toronto City Council spent in excess of $300,000 on the program to require the placards be placed in every restaurant and food store. If, as Chan noted, the Chinatown proprietors didn’t get the message after receiving warnings and charges, there is very little likelihood that the conditional passes did any good. Receiving a conditional pass will cause some establishments to lose business even though they quickly comply to rectify minor problems but will do nothing to influence those who don’t take health concerns seriously. The six restaurants in the food court proved that. There is really no need for a "pass" designation because the restaurant or food store is meeting the standards. and there is no need for a "fail" designation because the premises are closed.
More importantly, does anyone pay attention to those designations anymore? When the grading system was first introduced after a flurry of publicity, it was natural for people to take a close look at them--to inform themselves about new places or to see how their local eatery was faring. But now that the placards have become part of the fixtures of all food establishments and are hardly noticeable, it is doubtful that many people pay attention to the signs. They are as commonplace as the windows they are in.
It’s no secret that Toronto City Council can raise taxes, increase user fees and beg other levels of government for money, but they have no stomach to reduce spending. The grading system probably isn’t worth the money that’s being spent to provide every food establishment with a placard. The funds, if they have to be used, would be better spent enforcing health standards instead of window decorations.
But it will never happen. It makes too many councillors feel good to bother looking at the grading system to see if it is justified.