The St. Mary’s County Health Department’s Food Safety Program has announced recipients of the 2011 Gold Star Achievement Awards. An awards ceremony to recognize food establishments in St. Mary’s County for their superior compliance to food safety standards will be held February 29, 2012 at 2:00 pm in the Commissioners Meeting Room in the Chesapeake Building, 41770 Baldridge Street, Leonardtown. Awards recipients include local restaurants, catering businesses, public school food facilities and institutions.
This program not only recognizes the conscientious efforts of food establishments, but also alerts the public to restaurants that have demonstrated exceptional attention to public health safety and sanitation.
The St. Mary’s County Health Department helps food establishments keep the risk of food borne illness low through education and inspections. Health department inspectors specifically observe and document food handling practices during a regular routine monitoring inspection.
Advanced technology in the field enables health inspectors to record and track compliance progress and contributes to the ability to inform the public more quickly about those establishments that are going the extra mile to provide customers a safe and healthy dining experience.
Food establishments that achieve this high level of compliance will receive a certificate naming them as Gold Star establishments. The requirements to earn the Gold Star are:
- No critical violations (based on COMAR 10.15.03)
- No temperature violations cited during a monitoring inspection
- All violations noted by an inspector must be corrected by a 30-day follow-up inspection.
- No confirmed unsafe food handling complaints
- At least one food service worker completed a recognized and approved “Food Service Sanitation and Safety Class” within the last two years
For more information about the Gold Star Program, please call St. Mary’s County Health Department Division of Environmental Services at 301-475-4321.