The Colony City Council has approved an ordinance amendment regarding the posting of health inspection letter grade cards within food establishments in The Colony.
This change marks the transition to a new program ultimately making health inspection information available to the public electronically in a convenient, user-friendly format via smart phone, tablet and the City of The Colony’s website.
As of October 2017, letter grade cards will no longer be issued and required to be posted for the most current health inspection grade at a food establishment within The Colony. The letter grade cards will be replaced with a city-issued laminated placard containing a QR Code linked to The Colony’s Health Inspection webpage. A QR code (or quick response code) is a type of 2D bar code used to provide easy access to information through a smartphone or tablet.
Under the new system, patrons of a food establishment who do not have a QR code reader installed on their smart phone or tablet can download a free QR code reader from the iTunes or Android app stores. Once the QR code is scanned, the user will be redirected to The Colony’s Health Inspection page via the user’s web browser. From there, the user can scroll through the master list of food establishments’ scores (including date of inspection) to view the most recent inspection score of the establishment they are visiting.
This ordinance amendment does NOT affect the manner in which food establishments are inspected in The Colony or the letter grade an establishment receives based off their inspection. The Colony Health Department will continue to inspect food establishments using the Texas Food Establishment Rules established by the Texas Department of Health and Human Services. The letter grade system will remain in place and a corresponding letter grade will be assigned based on the results of a food establishment’s inspection.
Additionally, food establishments are required to keep a copy of their latest health inspection report on the premises and made available to the public upon request. Patrons of food establishments in The Colony may ask the establishment’s management at any time to view a hard copy of the latest inspection report.
For more information, please contact The Colony Health Department at 972-624-3161 or email Mary Branch.