KOCHI: In what could be an extremely useful service for foodies in the city, the Kochi Corporation is planning to introduce a grading system for restaurants. This is also a rather encouraging move to urge city restaurants to clean up their act and make sure they serve food prepared in hygienic conditions.According to a top official of the Health Standing Committee, the grading system will help the civic body to identify the best restaurants that offer quality food.Those that are identified as the best will be given certificates by the Corporation. As per the new system, the restaurants will be graded ‘A’, ‘B’, and ‘C’. The criteria for grading includes quality of food served, hygiene condition of the kitchen and premises, purity of drinking water, suitability of water used for cooking and efficiency in customer service. “The officials of the Health Department of the Corporation and the Health Standing Committee members have discussed the plan to introduce the new system. The proposal will be put up at the Corporation council meeting and the system will be introduced once it gets the Council’s nod,” said Kochi Corporation Health Standing Committee chairman T K Ashraf. “The best restaurants will be given certificates of recogonition and the owners will be honoured by the corporation,” added Ashraf. In the new system, grade ‘A’ indicates that the restaurant has not violated any norms set by the Health Department and meets quality expectations. Grades ‘B’ and ‘C’ will be given to those making minimal violations. However, any grade lower than ‘C’ would indicate that the restaurant has shown disregard for the guidelines, and could even be asked to close down. Ashraf said that the civic body hopes that the new grading system will reduce the risk of food contamination. Also, the Health Department will conduct regular inspections wherein grades will be given, and be subject to revision based on results from these surprise raids.
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