ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) – If you have eaten at a restaurant or ordered takeout food in the past week, have you remembered to read the health department’s report for the restaurant?

Georgia Department of Public Health environmental health specialists routinely inspect each business twice a year. These inspections evaluate food safety and overall cleanliness. Restaurants receive a score out of 100. Anything below 70 is considered a failure.

In addition to the overall score, there are two other important things to look for in a restaurant’s published report. Look at the “Risk Factors” section and also look for areas of non-compliance.

When a restaurant fails an inspection, the owner first receives a detailed report of each violation.

If some violations are deemed “critical,” the restaurant will have 24 to 72 hours to fix them. Then, a follow-up inspection will take place approximately 10 days after the initial inspection to ensure the restaurant has continued to fix the critical violations. If the restaurant has not fixed those violations, it may be temporarily closed until it passes a re-inspection.

Inspection results and reports are public and posted in restaurants and on the Georgia Department of Health’s online portal.

If you need to submit a report to the Southwest Health District regarding a restaurant, you can call (229) 352-4275.

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