Restaurant ratings

Food establishments in Butte County will be required to post food-safety ratings based on the results of regular inspections beginning Jan. 1.

The inspections aim to minimize the occurrence of the four “most critical risk factors for food-borne illness: inadequate cooking, improper holding temperatures, contaminated equipment and poor personal hygiene,” according to a press release from Butte County Public Health.

The food establishments, which include restaurants, mobile food trucks, grocery stores, schools and hospitals, will receive placards indicating how they fared on their most recent inspection.

The placards must be displayed within 5 feet of the main entrance, and will be categorized by color, with green indicating that the establishment passed inspection, yellow being a “conditional pass”—two or more major violations were identified and a second inspection must be conducted within three days—and red indicating the establishment is closed until the next inspection.