San Rafael, CA – Looking for the ever-so-delicious taco but also wanting to make sure it was prepared in a manner that was up to all applicable County regulations? Look no further than the online source many already use when cravings strike, Yelp.
The Marin Food Reports app can be used to explore food inspection results across food facilities in the county.
The County of Marin has partnered with Yelp to associate the
Marin County Community Development Agency’s food facility inspection result data with Yelp’s community directory. Simply look up an eatery, explore its listing, and find the latest health inspection result with details pertaining to the inspection, such as specific violations found. The eatery’s history of inspections is available as well.
“I don’t know if I would have thought to consider a restaurant’s most recent food inspection result while I was browsing Yelp,” said Wesley Hill, Marin County’s Web Development and Open Data Program Manager. “The ratings, pictures of food, and type of cuisine tend to drive the decision, but it’s immensely cool that I can now filter out suspect places using data.”
Yelp first developed this integration with San Francisco. Together they created the Local Inspector Value-Entry Specification (LIVES), which allows any government to voluntarily share its data.
For the engaged resident, Marin County’s Information Services and Technology Department has also created a mobile app, Marin Food Reports. The app can be used to explore food inspection results across food facilities in the county. It is more oriented toward health inspection results than Yelp’s dining-out focus. App users can search by business name and location. Navigating the results and selecting a food facility, users can browse the latest inspections and see details not exposed in Yelp, such as inspector’s comments.
Hill said the partnership is a great example of how government and the private sector can work together to provide the best experience possible for residents looking for information.
“This provides more transparency and improves health outcomes through technology so many residents already use,” he said.
Both Yelp and Marin Food Reports provide the public with valuable information to inform their choices. Give them a spin by looking up a local restaurant on Yelp or downloading the app on Apple’s App Store or the Google Play Store.