You Can Now View Health Inspection Reports For Every Dallas Restaurant Online

After a lengthy battle over transparency, the city of Dallas is now making it easier for the public to search health inspection reports for area restaurants.

After two major Dallas publications pressed the city for this information to be more readily available to the public, Dallas restaurant health inspection reports will all be collected in an online database for public viewing. The first scores were published on May 23, reports the Dallas Business Journal.

Unlike other cities, where health department grades are posted in restaurant windows or in an online database, Dallas is decidedly late to the party. But now, users can search for their favorite spots by name, or look specifically for restaurants with really high (or low) scores. The reports can also be downloaded for reference when on the go.

Here’s how it works: restaurants are inspected every six months, and are graded by the city on a 1 to 100 scale. Scores below 59 are considered “unacceptable,” and will force a closure. If a restaurants scores between 60 and 69, it will have to be re-inspected immediately after changes are made. The cleanest restaurants, rated “very good,” score in between 90 and 100 points.

This newly-available information could bring problems for a few less-than-clean local spots, but knowledge is definitely power.

• City of Dallas now posting restaurant inspection scores [Dallas Business Journal]