Abstract
The inspection certificate program consists of food establishments voluntarily posting a certificate to inform patrons that inspection reports can be accessed from operators or the public health department. A three-month pilot program was evaluated for program improvement purposes. Only 65% of the selected operators were willing to participate, which suggests a challenge to fully impie-menting the program. Thirty-nine randomly selected restaurant operators participated. Most operators posted the certificate at the front entrance, and patrons indicated that reports were clear. Operators were supportive of the program. Some operators reported that the program was good for business and offered suggestions to improve it. A total of 583 requests for reports were made which suggests that the program empowered patrons to request reports, mostly from operators. Most patron evaluation forms came from a few operators that had no deficiencies, which limits generalizability.
Résumé
Le programme des certificats d’inspection est un programme selon lequel les établissements de restauration acceptent volontairement d’afficher un certificat informant leurs clients que les rapports d’inspection sont disponibles auprès du restaurateur ou du service de santé publique. Un programme pilote de trois mois a été évalué en vue de voir comment améliorer le programme en question. Seuls 65% des établissements sélectionnés étaient prêts à participer, ce qui laisse penser que la pleine mise en oeuvre du programme ne se fera pas sans difficulté. Trente-neuf restaurateurs sélectionnés au hasard ont participé. La plupart ont affiché le certificat à la porte d’entrée de leur établissement et les clients ont dit l’avoir clairement vu. Les restaurateurs étaient en faveur du programme. Certains d’entre eux ont dit que cela aidait leur commerce et ont offert des suggestions pour l’améliorer. Cinq cent quatre-vingt trois (583) demandes de consultation du rapport d’inspection, essentiellement auprès du restaurateur, ont été faites au total, ce qui suggère que le programme a habilité les clients à en faire la demande. La plupart des formulaires d’évaluation par les clients sont venus de quelques restaurateurs qui n’avaient rien à se reprocher, ce qui limite la généralisation.
Footnotes
Effective January 1, 1998, the City of North York Public Health Department (NYPHD) was amalgamated into the new City of Toronto Public Health Department.
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