Petition is successful with 308 signatures
To: Restaurant Owners and Citizens of the City of Detroit
NO COLORS ON THE FOOD GRADING ORDINANCE
Vote is Over.
5 things to know about the Impact of the Food Grading Ordinance:
1. Concern with The City Health Department Staff Capacity:
Capacity would need to increase dramatically to deal with reinspections based on the new grading system.
- We currently have 10 inspectors for the entire City. A budget for the department has been approved to hire only 5 more inspectors.
- This is not enough staff for the work that needs to be done CURRENTLY, we cannot put more work on an already overworked department.
2. Consumer Education:
- The 700,000 citizens of Detroit and its visitors need to be properly educated on what the food grades mean.
How will the city ensure citizens have heard about the ordinance and understand what each color represents when they see them?
3. Will this Ordinance Cover scenarios like Lafayette Coney Island?
- Under this ordinance, Lafayette would have had a green placard outside of their restaurant and been in good standing with the Health Department. This restaurant was not shut down because of an inspection. If the colored signage were there, under this ordinance, the green placard would have encouraged customers to dine there.
4. Inconsistent application: Food Deserts in the City of Detroit
- People often buy food from gas stations or stores like Family Dollar. These stores are not covered by this ordinance.
- Food trucks are no longer covered in this ordinance.
- Every place that serves food in the city should be covered in this ordinance to address the problem of food borne illnesses. Small businesses and other restaurants would now be penalized and held to a different standard not only to competitors from other cities but also, another business down the street from you.
5. Lastly and most importantly, this solution does not solve the alleged problem.
There is no data from the Detroit Health Department to support the claim that the increase or spread of food borne illnesses is a result of restaurants failing health inspections.
This is one of the most critical issues. This is a proposed solution to an unevaluated problem. There is no report from the Health Department that indicates that the increase in food borne illness is a result of failed restaurant health inspections.
Even if such a report did exist, the proposed solution ideally would be around training and education food preparers NOT attempting to alter consumer behavior.
1. Concern with The City Health Department Staff Capacity:
Capacity would need to increase dramatically to deal with reinspections based on the new grading system.
- We currently have 10 inspectors for the entire City. A budget for the department has been approved to hire only 5 more inspectors.
- This is not enough staff for the work that needs to be done CURRENTLY, we cannot put more work on an already overworked department.
2. Consumer Education:
- The 700,000 citizens of Detroit and its visitors need to be properly educated on what the food grades mean.
How will the city ensure citizens have heard about the ordinance and understand what each color represents when they see them?
3. Will this Ordinance Cover scenarios like Lafayette Coney Island?
- Under this ordinance, Lafayette would have had a green placard outside of their restaurant and been in good standing with the Health Department. This restaurant was not shut down because of an inspection. If the colored signage were there, under this ordinance, the green placard would have encouraged customers to dine there.
4. Inconsistent application: Food Deserts in the City of Detroit
- People often buy food from gas stations or stores like Family Dollar. These stores are not covered by this ordinance.
- Food trucks are no longer covered in this ordinance.
- Every place that serves food in the city should be covered in this ordinance to address the problem of food borne illnesses. Small businesses and other restaurants would now be penalized and held to a different standard not only to competitors from other cities but also, another business down the street from you.
5. Lastly and most importantly, this solution does not solve the alleged problem.
There is no data from the Detroit Health Department to support the claim that the increase or spread of food borne illnesses is a result of restaurants failing health inspections.
This is one of the most critical issues. This is a proposed solution to an unevaluated problem. There is no report from the Health Department that indicates that the increase in food borne illness is a result of failed restaurant health inspections.
Even if such a report did exist, the proposed solution ideally would be around training and education food preparers NOT attempting to alter consumer behavior.
Why is this important?
We want people to think about the way policy effects small businesses in the City of Detroit who lack resources, employees, and more. The food grade ordinance will be another burden placed on the small businesses in the restaurant industry who have already gone through enough during the pandemic. We want City Council to work for small businesses, not add more to their plate!