In this article Tips on keeping safe with restaurant food

Dine out safely

How to be your own restaurant inspector

By Peggy Noonan

Cost, taste and atmosphere are important in a restaurant, but what people really want to know is whether the food is safe.

Local health inspection reports are one way to find out, although they're far from perfect. An inspection is only a snapshot of what one inspector saw on one day, says Steven Grover, vice president of health and safety regulatory affairs for the National Restaurant Association in Washington, D.C. The kitchen could have turned into a sanitation nightmare an hour after the inspector left.

Plus, Grover points out, there are no national health standards for restaurants and no common minimum training for inspectors.

If we can't depend too heavily on inspection report findings, we can learn to protect ourselves. The key is learning telltale tip-offs to health hazards.

For examples, odors. "Use your nose. If the place smells funny, don't order food there," cautions safety and health consultant Debra Smiley Holtzman. Odd or unpleasant smells are not a hazard themselves, but they indicate lapses in cleanliness and maintenance.

Look around outside, says restaurant consultant John Imbergamo, president of Denver's Imbergamo Group. If the entrance and back door -- especially near the trash -- are neat and clean, it's a good bet the interior is sanitary.

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More tips on being your own restaurant inspector:

Pit stop first. Check the restroom before you order. "Restrooms are the window into the kitchen," Imbergamo says. If people can't keep their restrooms clean, they're not likely to keep the kitchen clean, either.

Check for spots. If they give you a messy menu -- something they know you'll look at closely -- what else aren't they cleaning? If there is lipstick on your glass and food debris on your fork, something is wrong. Immediately tell the manager, not just the server, says Grover, so the problem can be corrected, whether it's due to equipment or a person. If the manager shrugs off your complaint, leave.

Watch hands. Are the servers clean and neat? A server's dirty fingernails caused a hepatitis outbreak in Florida, Holtzman says. And if you see servers sneeze or cough or rub their noses and continue to serve without stopping to wash, don't eat there.

No touching. Even hands that look clean can spread disease. Servers should never touch the "business end" of anything that comes in contact with your food, such as fork tines, the "bowl" of a spoon or the blade of your table knife.

No refills. You should get a new glass for each drink. When glasses are taken to the food preparation area for a refill, there's a risk of spreading germs. Refilling the same glass can deposit on a dispenser's lever lip-to-glass contact germs that then spread to every other glass the lever touches. When pitchers are used, no part of the pitcher should touch anyone's glass.

Look for bodies. Dead insects indicate poor cleaning. If you see rodent droppings, mousetraps or bait, "find another restaurant," Holtzman says. "And if you come face to face with a mouse or rat, run -- don't walk -- to the nearest exit."

Are hot foods hot and cold foods cold? Keeping foods at the correct temperatures is the most important way to reduce food-borne illnesses.