MONTEREY COUNTY — The Monterey County Health Department Environmental Health Bureau has announced the release of a new phone application “MC Food Inspection Findings” available for public use. The new app assists the public in making informed decisions when seeking restaurants and food facilities that meet or exceed food safety standards.
Working closely with the county’s Information Technology and Health IT staff, the Monterey County Environmental Health Bureau created the phone application, which provides members of the public access to the two most recent Food Facility Inspection reports conducted by Monterey County Environmental Health Specialist inspectors, including inspection findings from all permitted food facilities in Monterey County.
Through MC Food Inspection Findings, the public will be able to:
• Obtain immediate information on food facilities located within close proximity of their location when the App is opened.
• Obtain the location, phone number, address and name of the food facility.
• View the two most recent inspections listing violations or compliance status, including the achievement of the Monterey County Gold Seal for substantial food safety practices.
• Register health and safety concerns through a complaint link allowing input of customer information, a description of issue and provides the ability to take a photo to accompany complaint.
“The California Retail Food Code requires food facilities to maintain the most recent routine inspection on site for public review upon request,” stated John Ramirez, director, Monterey County Environmental Health Bureau. “This newly developed application allows members of the public to view the two most recent food inspection findings from inspection reports and locate those food facilities who have obtained substantial compliance with food safety practices denoted with the ‘Gold Seal’ awarded by the Bureau.”
Ramirez added, “In Monterey County, anyone will be able to access this information from any location for any food facility. The application will also allow the public to instantaneously communicate food safety concerns to the Health Department using their phones.”
The MC Food Inspection Findings was released to the public May 14 through Apple Store and Google Play Store. For more information about the Gold Seal program, visit the website www.mtyhd.org/goldseal.
