CARY, N.C. (AP) - North Carolina's restaurant inspectors award top grades for sanitation even when the establishments they examine have obvious problems such as roach or rodent infestations.
An Associated Press analysis of state and county records show the average food service inspection over the past five years led to a sanitation score of 98 out of 100 - a grade of high "A." Only 17 facilities over more than 375,000 inspections failed by scoring below a "C," resulting in a brief shutdown.
State rules limit how many points inspectors can deduct for specific violations, even critical ones, meaning that establishments must have a series of problems to record a "B" or lower. Bug and pest problems carry a maximum two-point deduction.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
