Restaurant inspection reports go online

The Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture went public with restaurant inspection data but no reports for university cafeterias means students are left in the dark

Food inspectors served the Tim Hortons in Dalhousie's Tupper Building with a warning for improper food hygiene training. (Photo: Colin Parrott)

The Government of Nova Scotia released a new database Tuesday for restaurant and grocery store inspection reports.

Diners can now go online to see if their favorite restaurants have recently been flagged for violating food safety regulations. But the database still doesn’t contain data important to students at many university eateries around Halifax.

“We believe in full disclosure and want to be as transparent as we can be,” said Agriculture Minister Brooke Taylor at a news conference. “Nova Scotia has one of the most stringent food safety systems in the country and providing pertinent information to consumers is an important part of it.”

At the new website, food enthusiasts can check food safety reports that will be posted within two or three days after inspections are completed.

 Search for your favourite restaurant here

The reports single out eateries for violations such as faulty dishwashers, improper food storage rules, lack of food safety training or dirty countertops and washrooms. Detailed instructions to comply with the violations are also included.

Regulation violators

Inspectors have been handing out warnings to a number of restaurants near Halifax universities for a variety of minor offences.

Needs Convenience on Coburg Road, a popular late-night snack option for Dalhousie students, was ordered in late September to keep equipment and surfaces “free from an accumulation of dust, dirt, food residue and other debris.”

Smitty’s Family Restaurant, on Tower Road, was served with two notices Oct 15. One cited food handlers for failing to restrain hair by wearing a hat, visor or hairnet while the other highlighted a requirement that food be protected from contamination by being stored a minimum of 15 cm above the floor.

Tim Hortons in Dalhousie’s Tupper Medical Building was in violation of the health code for failing to provide food handlers with adequate food hygiene training. But inspectors gave the Tims in the Queen Elizabeth II Victoria General hospital the stamp of approval.

Bubba Ray’s Sports Bar and Mexicali Rosa’s, popular student hangouts along Spring Garden Road, both passed their most recent inspections done at the end of July.

Database not complete

Mike Horwich, director of food protection for the province, said the current database only contains reports for around 1,300 of the 5,000 licensed food service facilities in the province.

The database will eventually contain reports for university cafeterias, such as the 12 outlets Aramak Campus Services runs at Dalhousie, as more inspections are carried out, Horwich confirmed.

Nova Scotia has 25 food safety specialists, with nationally certified public health credentials, who carry out 9,700 inspections each year.

View the online restaurant inspection database

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