Grades of UCLA eateries not posted for patrons

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By Debra Marisa Greene
Daily Bruin Contributor

You see grade cards posted on restaurants throughout Los Angeles
County, but you won’t find grades posted at many dining
facilities at UCLA.

Los Angeles County requires restaurants under its jurisdiction
to post grades they receive from license inspectors, but because
Associated Students of UCLA restaurants are under state
jurisdiction, ASUCLA can choose whether or not to post the
restaurants’ grades. It has chosen not to.

Thus, except for restaurants like Rubio’s Baja Grill,
Panda Express and Sbarro ““ which require grade cards because
they are under county jurisdiction ““ ASUCLA dining facilities
on campus are not required to post grades.

“Having a disclosure available to the public is extremely
important,” said L.A. County Chief Environmental Health
Specialist Terrance Powell. “We are providing information to
consumers to make informed choices.”

Grade cards allow the public to easily view the
inspectors’ findings, Powell said.

Though ASUCLA restaurants don’t post their grades, they
are still monitored about four times a year by state inspectors who
study the restaurants’ sanitation, temperature controls and
food safety, said Rick Greenwood, director of UCLA Environmental
Health and Safety.

The Bruin surveyed 50 students and faculty about grade cards on
April 4. Fifty-two percent of the people surveyed said they choose
a restaurant based on its grade and 48 percent said they
don’t.

When asked whether people thought UCLA should have grade cards,
76 percent said yes and 24 percent said no.

While inspections conducted by the state and those conducted by
the county similarly examine such items as food temperatures and
employee hygiene, they have a different grading system.

Unlike the county, which evaluates each restaurant on a point
system and assigns a letter grade, UCLA Office of Environment,
Health and Safety does not assign grades but still reports
violations.

Tsunami and Relaxtation closed late last quarter because the
L.A. County Health Department decided they should be under the
authority of the county and not the state. They have since
reopened.

L.A. County required adjustments to be made to each facility,
including adding a separate hot water heater for each and a
compartment sink for Tsunami.

Since implementing the grading system, there has been
statistical improvement on how facilities are operated, Powell
said.

From 1997-98, 57.6 percent of the county’s facilities
received As and 5.7 percent did not score above a C, according to
Powell. In 2000-01 ““ after the grading system was implemented
““ 79.5 percent of the restaurants had As and 0.3 percent
received lower than a C.

“The outcome of the grades is that they keep the
facilities cleaner,” Powell said.

But posted grades may not be very accurate because they may be
up for a long time while the sanitation of the facility may change,
Greenwood said.

“They don’t give as clear a picture as people
think,” he said.

In addition, B-rated restaurants are just as popular as A-rated
restaurants, he said.

“People don’t care,” he added. “Most
people eat in our restaurants because they are convenient. We
don’t let them operate unless they are in a good
condition.”

Greenwood said it’s not necessary to post grade cards
because the inspector’s report “is on file at the
restaurant for the public.”

But when The Bruin requested to see the inspection reports at
the restaurants, employees said they were unavailable. After
contacting five different people over the course of a week, The
Bruin found that the reports can be accessed through the Corporate
Executive Chef for ASUCLA.

Robert Williams, director of food operations for ASUCLA,
attributed the extended length of time it took to obtain the
inspection reports to the fact that UCLA’s main inspector
recently left for another job.

L.A. County implemented grading cards in January 1998 after a
CBS News broadcast exposed health code violations in restaurants by
using hidden cameras.

As to whether UCLA will implement grade cards, Williams said he
is perfectly satisfied with the program as it is now.