How to look up Charlotte-area health inspection scores yourself to avoid bad restaurant
An estimated 48 million people each year contract foodborne illnesses, more commonly known as “food poisoning.” About 128,000 people are hospitalized and nearly 3,000 others die from foodborne diseases, according to the Center for Disease Control.
To help combat the spread of illness and disease, the Mecklenburg County’s Environmental Health Division is tasked with monitoring both natural and man-made environments that have an effect on human health. That job includes conducting inspections at establishments that serve food.
The division reports that there are more than 4,400 food service facilities currently operating within the county. While that figure continues to grow every day, county officials conduct about 13,000 facility inspections each year, according to the county website.
Those inspection records eventually get uploaded to the division’s Food and Facilities Inspections Site where the public can review for free the inspection scores of their favorite Charlotte restaurants.
Here are a few tips to keep in mind while conducting research on the county website.
Eliminate unnecessary search terms
When you’re searching for the inspection records of a specific restaurant, it may be helpful to not include the word “the” that precedes the restaurant’s name.
For example, when searching for inspection records that belong to a restaurant called “The Mad Greek,” nothing comes up when typing in the full name of the restaurant. However, once you shorten your search item to just “Mad Greek,” the desired results are populated.
Adjust inspection dates
If you are only willing to eat at restaurants that have been inspected recently, you can filter searches for restaurants that have been inspected within a selected window of time, such as within the last three months or within the last week.
Enter a ZIP code to narrow results
One of the optional fields you’ll come across when searching for health inspection records through the inspection management system is zip code. This is especially helpful if you’re reviewing the health inspection scores of chain restaurants that have multiple locations throughout the region.
