{"id":885,"date":"2014-03-07T05:01:00","date_gmt":"2014-03-07T05:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/?p=885"},"modified":"2014-12-23T04:06:57","modified_gmt":"2014-12-23T04:06:57","slug":"a-close-look-at-restaurant-sanitation-in-allegheny-county","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/03\/07\/a-close-look-at-restaurant-sanitation-in-allegheny-county\/","title":{"rendered":"A close look at restaurant sanitation in Allegheny County"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Open <\/a>
Open boxes of baking soda and rice are violations. (Stewart Love\/The Pittsburgh Press). <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"John <\/a>
John R. Corey of the Allegheny County Health Dept. displayed the ABC grading system. (Pittsburgh Press photo) <\/div> <\/div>
\"Cook <\/a>
Cook John Gibbons works on broken floor tiles at Frank & Wallys on Forbes Avenue in 1971. (Pittsburgh Press photo) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"This <\/a>
This cooking space harbored countless cockroaches. (Stewart Love\/The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div>
\"Improper <\/a>
Improper handling of glasses by a waitress. (Stewart Love\/The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"A <\/a>
A cat crawling across a meat grinder was a clear violation. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n
\n

Allegheny County\u2019s new system for rating the cleanliness of restaurants and posting those grades prominently was front page news this week in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But it turns out that efforts to rate restaurants in a meaningful, useful way for local diners dates back more than 60\u00a0years. Stewart Love of The Pittsburgh Press used his camera to document unsanitary conditions in Pittsburgh restaurants in 1949 and 1950. His disturbing images of dirty kitchens and refrigerators accompanied a story by William Faust.<\/p>\n

By 1945, Pittsburgh restaurants had attracted so many complaints from diners that city officials were moved to conduct their own survey of local dining establishments that year. What they found was less than appetizing.<\/p>\n

\u201cScientific analysis indicated that 80 percent of the restaurants, taverns, cafeterias and holes in the walls used inadequate sanitary measures in some phase of storing, preparing and serving food,\u201d Mr. Faust wrote.<\/p>\n

In 1949, inspections of Pittsburgh restaurants intensified and 75 proprietors \u00a0paid fines for using unsterilized eating utensils. That same year, Pittsburgh\u2019s City Council adopted an ABC ordinance and gave restaurants 16 months to meet the new law\u2019s requirements.<\/p>\n

Restaurants received an A rating if they used the highest standards of storing, preparing and serving food. Restaurants with a B rating were borderline cases, \u201clacking in one or more minor respects to merit an A rating,\u201d according to Mr. Faust\u2019s story.<\/p>\n

Establishments with a C rating, commonly called \u201cthe quick and dirty,\u201d had to clean up within 30 days or close. (By 1950, 110 U.S. cities had enacted laws that adopted a restaurant grading system using the letters A, B and C.)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s worth noting that in January of 1950, Pittsburgh had 700 restaurants with an A rating, 1,565 with a B rating and 300 with a C rating. We wonder how local restaurants will stack up in 2014?<\/p>\n

In its 1950 story, The Pittsburgh Press story listed eleven criteria for grading a restaurant. For the benefit of our readers and local restaurant owners, we close with that checklist.<\/p>\n

Are windows and sidewalks clean?<\/p>\n

Is the lighting adequate?<\/p>\n

Are washrooms clean with bright lights and solid floors?<\/p>\n

Are there unsealed cracks in floor covering or around booths?<\/p>\n

Is a sweeping compound used?<\/p>\n

Does the wait staff pick up ice with their fingers?<\/p>\n

Are cups and dishes cracked?<\/p>\n

Do waitresses and bartenders pick up glasses by putting their fingers at the top? (This is a great way to spread germs.)<\/p>\n

Does your waitress use a tray or does she serve dishes of food stacked on top of one another?<\/p>\n

Is silver picked up by handles only, butter with forks, plates by the edges?<\/p>\n

Are glasses washed or merely rinsed?<\/p>\n

Even now, those questions are all worth asking.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Efforts to rate restaurants in a meaningful, useful way for local diners dates back more than 60 years.<\/p>\n

Look at the picturesA close look at restaurant sanitation in Allegheny County<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":890,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[946],"tags":[974,1019,1046],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/tumblr_n20z82rwFg1rr5swxo6_1280.jpg?fit=1080%2C895&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2278,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2012\/11\/16\/hill-district-at-night\/","url_meta":{"origin":885,"position":0},"title":"Hill District at night","date":"November 16, 2012","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Silhouetted in the foreground is the 229-foot tall tower of the historic Allegheny County courthouse.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/tumblr_mdjy2vrPtm1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C965&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2413,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2012\/10\/16\/circa-1916-allegheny-observatory-allegheny\/","url_meta":{"origin":885,"position":1},"title":"Allegheny Observatory","date":"October 16, 2012","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Allegheny Observatory marked its 100th year of exploring the night sky over Pittsburgh.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/tumblr_mbr3s4Cj9Y1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C985&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1891,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/04\/10\/park-schenley-restaurant-pittsburghs-21-club\/","url_meta":{"origin":885,"position":2},"title":"Park Schenley Restaurant \u2014 Pittsburgh\u2019s 21 Club","date":"April 10, 2013","format":"gallery","excerpt":"The Park Schenley was more than just a restaurant.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/tumblr_ml0n2qnmCX1rr5swxo2_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C835&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6365,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2016\/01\/20\/pittsburgh-flood-jan-20-20-years-ago\/","url_meta":{"origin":885,"position":3},"title":"Floods sweep Pittsburgh region, Jan. 20, 20 years ago","date":"January 20, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"That's when Pittsburgh saw four seasons of weather pushed together in a two-week period of time in the middle of January.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/flood008-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C774&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5395,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2015\/05\/27\/donut-man-pittsburgh\/","url_meta":{"origin":885,"position":4},"title":"Pittsburgh’s Donut Man","date":"May 27, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Henry Meyer made his name and face known by delivering doughnuts, Danishes and pecan rolls to places around Pittsburgh. 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