Health Inspections Posting Soon in C-U Food Establishments

By the first of next year, restaurant patrons in Champaign-Urbana will see postings with the results of the latest health inspections.

The color-coded placards will also go out in cafeterias, nursing homes, food trucks, and other food service locations. 

Champaign-Urbana’s Board of Health last month approved the ordinance to post inspection results in some 800 locations.

C-U Public Health District Director of Environmental Health, Jim Roberts, said each location must post the notices where the public can see them before they order food.

“And so we developed inspection notice placard posting guidelines that has language that explains what we feel means clearly visible and easily readable, plus some photograph examples that would help people in posting the placard the first time," he said.

There are three colors to the notices.  Green placards indicate ‘satisfactory compliance.'  Yellow means ‘re-inspection required.'  A red notice indicates a location has been closed, but managers can apply for re-instatement of a permit.

Roberts said this marks the culmination of a 2-year process.

"I've kept the owner-operators informed through newsletters, or through open houses as to the way this type of program would be available locally," he said.  "And so I think they understand that something would have to be posted."

Around 300 food establishments in outlying Champaign County can post inspection results on a voluntary basis after the Champaign County Board rejected making them mandatory last month.

The inspections don’t apply to food establishments on the University of Illinois campus, which is out of the C-U Public Health District’s jurisdiction.