# Can restaurants ever get higher than a "Satisfactory" sanitary rating? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 18, 2007, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-restaurants-ever-get-higher-than-a-satisfactory-sanitary-rating/408427 "2007-06-18T04:24:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![habs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecae2f/32.png) [@habs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/habs)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2007, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-restaurants-ever-get-higher-than-a-satisfactory-sanitary-rating/408427/1 "2007-06-18T04:24:25Z")
I stopped by a little ice cream store today to grab something cold, and while waiting for my order to be processed, I noticed the store had one of those “Satisfactory” sanitary ratings displayed on their walls. I began to wonder about this – I’m sure that when restaurants fail their sanitary inspections, they are (presumably) slapped with a “Failed” or “Rejected” status. But can a restaurant ever get higher than a “Satisfactory” rating? What would it be called? “Outstanding?” “Excellent?” Or is it basically just a pass/fail system? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![aktep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f0a364/32.png) [@aktep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aktep)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2007, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-restaurants-ever-get-higher-than-a-satisfactory-sanitary-rating/408427/2 "2007-06-18T06:01:01Z")
Depends on where you are, I suppose. Around here, the restaurants get numeric scores. 100 is the highest possible, and anything below a 70 is a failure and means another visit in a short time to see if you’ve straightened up your act. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2007, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-restaurants-ever-get-higher-than-a-satisfactory-sanitary-rating/408427/3 "2007-06-18T13:22:39Z")
Around here they get numerical scores which come with letter grades. Do NOT eat at a “B”. I’m serious, man, it’s nasty. Here where I work, our performance evaluations only go as high as “average”. Not even “satisfactory”. “Average”. ---
**Author:** ![wevets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2007, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-restaurants-ever-get-higher-than-a-satisfactory-sanitary-rating/408427/4 "2007-06-18T14:29:04Z")
I was really suprised during a recent trip to North Carolina, where a restaurant I ate at proudly displayed a “101%” on its Health Dept. examination. I really want to know how they got the extra 1%! I guess the GQ answer should be: It apparently varies from place to place depending on who or what organization devised the testing scale. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2007, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-restaurants-ever-get-higher-than-a-satisfactory-sanitary-rating/408427/5 "2007-06-18T16:11:32Z")
[QUOTE=wevets] I was really suprised during a recent trip to North Carolina, where a restaurant I ate at proudly displayed a “101%” on its Health Dept. examination. I really want to know how they got the extra 1%! [/QUOTE] I suspect, a health department that grades to one tenth of a percentage point; extremely poor hygiene; and a bottle of Tipp-Ex. ---
**Author:** ![BoBettie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@BoBettie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoBettie)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2007, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-restaurants-ever-get-higher-than-a-satisfactory-sanitary-rating/408427/6 "2007-06-18T16:32:17Z")
[QUOTE=wevets] I was really suprised during a recent trip to North Carolina, where a restaurant I ate at proudly displayed a “101%” on its Health Dept. examination. I really want to know how they got the extra 1%! I guess the GQ answer should be: It apparently varies from place to place depending on who or what organization devised the testing scale. [/QUOTE] I can’t believe I know this! A friend of mine was a health inspector in NC- they award bonus points if the restaurant sends staff members to special classes about food safety and cleanliness. I _think_ they could get up to 6 bonus points. I asked my friend this after eating at a restaurant with a 105 score. ---
**Author:** ![habs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecae2f/32.png) [@habs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/habs)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2007, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-restaurants-ever-get-higher-than-a-satisfactory-sanitary-rating/408427/7 "2007-06-18T21:54:35Z")
Interesting regarding the number scores. Here in New Jersey, it’s just “Satisfactory” (and, presumably, “Failed”). I’ll keep an eye out for restaurant ratings the next time I travel out of the state. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2007, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-restaurants-ever-get-higher-than-a-satisfactory-sanitary-rating/408427/8 "2007-06-18T23:27:32Z")
[QUOTE=Zsofia] Around here they get numerical scores which come with letter grades. Do NOT eat at a “B”. I’m serious, man, it’s nasty. [/QUOTE] Seriously. North Carolina recently switched to a numerical system, but your statement pretty much holds true. A restaurant can earn a low A with some dirty restrooms and a messy salad bar, but getting into B territory typically involves some cross-contamination, insects, lack of sanitizer for the dishwasher, etc.