Many restaurants that failed to achieve Howard County?s Healthy Restaurant status missed the mark because of minor health violations, health officials said.
“They really just need a stellar inspection next time around,” said Samantha O?Neil, coordinator of the Healthy Howard initiative, which aims to make the county a model public health community. Healthy Restaurants was the first phase of this plan.
Restaurants must maintain “very high standards” for health inspections, O?Neil said.
Fourteen restaurants applied for the recognition, but only five met the standards, health department spokeswoman Lisa de Hernandez said.
To be deemed healthy, the restaurant must have an average of no more than four noncritical violations for the three inspections each year. Noncritical requirements include having a hand-washing sink; proper lighting and ventilation; and clean walls, floors and ceilings.
The restaurant also must be trans fat-free and smoke-free and provide nutritional information and healthy options. Health officials have been working with the restaurants that are close to achieving the recognition.
“In the near future, we hope to get several more eligible” restaurants, Health Officer Dr. Peter Beilenson said.
The department also has bolstered inspections with a goal of having all restaurants inspected three times year. Now about 80 percent are inspected that frequently, Beilenson said.
This means some restaurants gunning for the designation are waiting for follow-up inspections, he said.
Other restaurants close to receiving the recognition are tweaking recipes to make them healthier, de Hernandez said.
The five that did make the cut show a diverse range of dining options: a health food store, two fast-food restaurants, a deli and an upscale restaurant.
“It is very doable,” Beilenson said, adding it shows that not just health food spots have healthy options.
AT A GLANCE
The first five restaurants recognized for the Healthy Howard initiative are:
» Chick-fil-A, Columbia Mall, 10300 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia
» Joe?s Place, 7130 Minstrel Way, Columbia
» Wendy?s, 8850 Gorman?s Ave., Laurel
» Jordan?s Steakhouse, 8085 Main St., Ellicott City
» Cafe David inside David?s Natural Market, 5430 Lynx Lane, Columbia
Source: Howard County Health Department
