Yolo County is now using the same color-coded health inspection placard system as Sacramento County.
On July 1, food safety inspectors in Yolo County began posting the color cards at restaurants, grocery stores, delicatessens, school cafeterias, licensed health care facilities and other permanent food businesses, as well as on food trucks.
Sacramento County adopted a color-coded placard system in 2007 to let customers know if a food facility has passed health inspections. A green placard means a restaurant passed, yellow is a conditional pass, meaning there are a few things that need to be fixed, and red is an immediate closure of a facility due to a health threat.
The county began applying the color-coded system to food trucks this summer as well.
Now, Yolo County is following suit.
“We chose the green-yellow-red placarding system because it is simple to understand and similar to programs in other northern California counties which have been successful in reducing food borne illness and improving compliance,” said Yolo County Planning, Building and Environmental Health Director, Leslie Lindbo, in a press statement.
Color-coded placards should be clearly visible for customers and have a QR code which the public can scan with a smartphone to bring up Yolo County Environmental Health’s database of food facility inspection reports.
To get businesses ready for the change, Yolo County Environmental Health has been holding free “How to Get a Green” classes to all restaurants and food facilities. The classes educate owners on safe food handling practices, major violations and the placarding program.
