New food inspection signs help Kitsap stay healthy

katiebaker9
2 days ago
3 min read

A Food Safety Inspection Sign rated "Best" is displayed in a shop window.

KITSAP COUNTY, WA — It’s lunchtime and you’re craving pizza. One pizza restaurant has a “best” food safety inspection sign. The other one “needs improvement.” Which pizza place do you choose?

New food safety inspection signs

Up until recently, it wasn't so easy to find food safety inspection scores for Kitsap restaurants. Kitsap Public Health District has posted food inspection reports on its website for many years. However, inspection reports can be difficult to read, and many Kitsap residents weren’t aware that they could find the reports online.

Last year, we set out to make it easier for our community to find and use food safety information.

Starting in July 2025, we required all permitted food service establishments in Kitsap County (such as restaurants, grocery stores, and food trucks) to post new food inspection signs that display their scores from recent food inspections. The signs use emojis and simple text to communicate the establishment’s overall food safety rating. Categories are:

Best: No violations observed (100% average score)
Great: A few violations observed
Okay: A number of violations observed
Needs to improve: Establishment is on probation

Examples of food safety inspection signs: We are still new, needs to improve, okay, great, & best.

Businesses that haven’t had a food safety inspection yet receive a sign that says, "We are still new." Temporary food establishments, such as vendors at fairs and festivals, are inspected by Kitsap Public Health but do not receive inspection signs.

Making an impact

These signs are making a difference in our community by helping people make more informed choices about where they eat.

To measure the impact, we conducted two surveys. One survey was sent out before the inspection signs were displayed; the other was sent out after. In the first survey, 1,750 people responded, with about half of them saying they had looked up food scores before.

In the second survey, we found that almost 65% of people who responded have seen the new inspection signs. From that group, nine out of 10 people said the signs helped them decide where to eat.

Several survey-takers said they would avoid restaurants that don’t display a food inspection sign.

“If I don’t see a sign ... forget it, I won't eat there. My health is more important.” - Survey-taker

By making inspection results easy for customers to see, the new signs highlight establishments that are committed to following food safety practices, while encouraging all food establishments to maintain high scores.

Watch the full Health Board presentation below or on Vimeo:

How restaurants are inspected

A map of food safety inspection scores in Kitsap.

Kitsap Public Health District inspects more than 1,300 food establishments in Kitsap County. During each inspection, we look for violations that can make people sick. Some examples are:

Improper food temperatures
Sick food workers
Cross-contamination
Poor handwashing
Touching ready-to-eat food with bare hands

We ensure that critical violations are fixed immediately, and we follow up on other violations. After each inspection, we write a report summarizing the results. Each report has a total score based on the number and types of violations noted.

Food safety inspection ratings are then displayed on signs and our food inspections report map.

Unpermitted Food Vendors

If you notice a restaurant, food truck, or food stand that doesn’t have a food inspection sign or a posted food establishment permit, please let us know. These food vendors might be unpermitted. Unpermitted vendors often use kitchens that haven’t been inspected, and customers don’t know if the vendor is following best food safety practices.

You can report these businesses online at KitsapPublicHealth.org/concern.