Worried about the quality of food at your favorite restaurant or deli? Curious about a street corner food vendor's food safety record?

The information is now at your fingertips.

Kings County residents can now check the health records of any food establishment -- restaurants, school cafeterias, bakeries, mobile food vendors and markets -- that exist within the county. The searchable database of reports can be found at www.countyofkings.com/health/ehs.

The site includes complete, up-to-date inspection reports for food facilities, which county health officials say are posted within a week of the latest inspection. The reports will be listed alphabetically by city, and each report posted will show the last three inspections performed at a particular food establishment.

The reports list any health and safety deficiencies, actions taken, any complaints issued, foodborne illness investigations and possible closure notices.

"We want to make it accessible and easier, because we don't know if people feel comfortable asking for those inspection reports at the facility, which are available as required by law," said Jeff Taber, interim deputy health director of Kings County's environmental health services. "The Internet allows them freedom to do searches and make decisions on where they may or may not want to dine based on food safety. That's a nice option to have."

The ultimate goal, Taber said, is to reduce the occurrence of foodborne illness and to promote safe food practices within the community. "Hopefully, we'll see an increase in food safety awareness, more conscientious food-handling practices and ultimately, less foodborne illness," he said.

The food supply in the county is generally safe. Still, about 76 million Americans get foodborne illnesses each year, including an estimated 300,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Kings County Division of Environmental Health has received and investigated 84 foodborne-illness complaints during the last year, although not all cases were found to be valid food poisoning, officials said.

The county's environmental health division is responsible for permitting, regulating and inspecting 542 food services facilities operating in Kings County.

The inspection process follows a pass-fail scoring method based on state and federal food safety guidelines, which regulate the adequacy of cooking temperature, holding temperature, personal hygiene of employees, cross-contamination and cleanliness of the facility.

Inspections are all unannounced, Taber said.

"We don't let them know how often we do it. We have a frequency we'd like to see and try to keep up with that frequency. But we don't want the food establishments to know," he said.

Over the last 12 months, about 75 percent of food establishments have passed the inspection, while 23 percent needed improvements. About 1.7 percent failed.

"That's what we would normally expect," Taber said. "What we'd like to see is a 100 percent passing."

In addition to reviewing recent inspections, residents can report a suspected food illness case through the Web site or search for various information regarding food safety, such as the recall information and food safety certification workshops.

The reporter can be reached at 583-2429.

(Oct. 23, 2009)