Food scores: Does your favorite restaurant make the grade?

(WSPA) – Every year about 48 million Americans get sick from food-borne illnesses, according to the Center for Disease Control.

Still, only a fraction of us check out the inspection reports of the restaurants and grocery stores we visit.

So 7NEWS Here to Help looked into how you can get the skinny before you spend your cash on another meal out.

The old proverb "what you don't know can't hurt you" dates back to the 1500s, centuries before we knew about pathogens like salmonella, e-coli and listeria.

For the few who even notice food score stickers in restaurant windows, far fewer take the time to look at the state database detailing the safety record of the places we eat.

Upstate woman shares local grades

That is why getting the word out has become a bit of a passion for Leah Phillips, in Spartanburg.

"Some of the pictures I was seeing I was like, oh that's really bad, I don't want to go spend my hard-earned money at a place that's not going to be all that clean, and we have people that come in and inspect it for that reason," Phillips said.

Every day Phillips shares the latest reports on restaurants in Spartanburg , Greenville and Cherokee counties on her three Facebook pages called SCDA Food Grades.

State food grade source

The source Phillips uses is the online food score database with the Department of Agriculture, which recently took over inspections from the Department of Health.

The reports are searchable by restaurant name, location, timeframe and grade, the lowest of which is a C.

"You can start seeing based on trends based on the history of the inspection whether or not a facility might have just got something that was kind of a one timer or if you can start seeing a pattern," Derek Underwood, the Assistant Commissioner of the Consumer Protection Division at the SCDA, said.

How it works

Underwood said their 115 inspectors examine 25,000 retail food establishments across the state, including grocery stores.

When you click on the reports, you'll see a number grade up top and red highlights for problem areas. You'd think cleanliness would be the major red flag, but Underwood said food temperature is just as important.

"Proper cooking, proper cooling, and proper re-heating. Those are the three things that will get you sick," Underwood said.

Phillips said she found the reports' photos particularly helpful, illustrating why we should care, from inaccessible handwashing to improper thawing.

By law a restaurant must display their food grade right at the entrance. And if it's changed the inspector will switch that out right away. It can never be altered or covered up.

In some cases, establishments may face suspension for issues like repeated violations. Those enforcement reports are located at the USDA Legal Division page.

Making your kitchen safer

Many of the food safety regulations are important even for home kitchens. The Centers for Disease Control has some great food safety resources for the public.

Promoting transparency

Sidewall Pizza has four locations with a track record of mostly As in the last decade.

In August their Greenville location got it's first C grade with red flags like improper heating and cooling plus uncleaned equipment and fruit flies.

While most establishments might shy away from talking about it, co-owner Loren Frant said she believes transparency along with quick corrective actions helps customers gain trust.

"We felt like we received really clear actionable feedback from the inspector and were able to take action right away to be able to make corrections very quickly and get that re-inspection within 24 hours and get that A grade back," Frant said. "We have tremendous respect for the feedback that we get from inspectors, we take it very seriously,"

Also, Phillips said consumers should do the same, even if looking up your go-to spots has you holding your breath.

"My favorite restaurants, they actually scored really well, and I was really excited," she said with a smile.

So whether you're serving or being served, adding that side of transparency can make everyone's meal a little easier to digest.