Lynn eateries must adhere to letter of law

LYNN - City officials are moving forward with two long-awaited projects designed to provide Lynners with a healthier lifestyle.

A restaurant grading system based on the cleanliness of local eateries and the institution of a trans fat ban will hopefully push Lynn in the right direction, according to Health Dir-ector Mary-Ann O’Connor.

Originally proposed to be up and running last fall, O’Connor said the restaurant grading program will finally kick off this month, with results from the inspections eventually being posted on the city’s Web site.

“By the end of the month, people will start seeing signs in windows,” she said. “And if folks want to know how restaurants did with their inspections, they can come in and ask for the report.”

Modeled after a restaurant rating system in California, the ratings are relate to the facilities’ cleanliness and food preparation tactics and are based on a numerical scale with 100 being the perfect score.

Points are deducted for each violation, such as improper food storage or rodent infestations and result in grades of A, B, C or closure of the eatery.

Critical violations carry higher deductions in regard to the grading system and are required to be either fixed immediately or within 24 hours.

Abel Ouanes, food inspector for the Inspectional Services Department, said Lynn is the first city in the state to implement the grading system.

“We’re willing to train restaurant staff to make sure they get a high score for their inspection, because we want to see all As,” he said. “Plus it’s beneficial for people because if they see the restaurant has an A grade, they’ll know it’s safe and will want to eat there.”

O’Connor said an advisory board is being established for the city to get feedback on the grading system. The board will consist of one Chinese restaurant, one Spanish restaurant, one eatery similar to a sub shop, one pub-style restaurant, and one take-out style establishment.

“We have some really good restaurants in Lynn and hopefully they will shine through this grading system,” she said.

If a restaurant is unhappy with their score, they will be able to schedule a re-inspection within 10 days of the first visit.

In regard to the trans fat issue, O’Connor said the Health Department is in the process of sending surveys to all restaurants in the city requesting information on what type of oil is being used.

“We’re basically asking the places to voluntarily comply, and then we’ll give them a little time to do so,” she said. “But we wanted to find out what restaurants are doing so first before we push another regulation on them.”

Trans fat is a type of fat that raises bad cholesterol (LDL) and lowers good cholesterol (HDL). Eating the fats increases the risk of developing heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes.

According to Ouanes, nearly 70 percent of restaurants are already using the correct oil, which contains less than .5 grams of trans fat per serving.

“It seems like we won’t have a problem implementing this because since Boston has a trans fat ban, it’s getting a little more difficult to buy oil with trans fat,” she said. “Plus the better oil used to be much more expensive, but the cost has since gone way down.”

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