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Health / Restaurant Inspections
Health Inspections / Grades
Find environmental health inspections and grades for Scotland County.
Restaurant Inspections
Restaurants are inspected at least once quarterly and are conducted unannounced. Good food handling practices, temperature controls on hot and cold foods, good cleaning and sanitation practices and proper hand washing procedures are included in the inspections.
A, B, & C Meanings
- A, 90 - 100
- B, 80 - 89.5
- C, 70 - 79.5
North Carolina Restaurants & Bars Observing New Smoke-Free Law
Since North Carolina's new law banning smoking in nearly all bars and restaurants took effect January 2, the NC. CARE-LINE has received numerous telephone calls asking for information about the law, and there have been in excess of 858,595 hits to the website since it was launched, reports the NC. Division of Public Health. Statistics on the implementation of the law will be posted on Smokefree. NC.gov every Tuesday.
"We are pleased at the response to date with this new law, as it will protect the public's health and the health of restaurant and bar employees," said State Health Director Jeffrey Engel, MD. "We will be evaluating the impact of this new state law on the health of North Carolinians."
While smoking is no longer legal in most restaurants and bars, there are limited exceptions for cigar bars and non-profit private clubs, such as patriotic clubs and some country clubs. Lodging establishments must also restrict smoking and may reserve no more than 20% of their rooms for smoking.
Local health directors have the authority to enforce the law at the local level. People can file a complaint if they believe an establishment is not complying with the new law. The Division of Public Health is forwarding the complaints every week to local health departments for follow-up and investigation.
"We want to be clear that a complaint is not necessarily a violation," said Danny Staley, president of the NC. Association of Local Health Directors. "Some establishments may not even realize the new law applies to them. It's up to local health departments to follow up on each complaint that is called in or entered on the website.
There has been numerous complaints against specific restaurants and bars. These include reports on the lack of non-smoking signs, ashtrays still in place, and businesses that are reported for allowing smoking to continue. There are roughly 24,000 establishments in the state affected by the new law.
There are three ways to report a possible business violation of the law:
- Call the local health department.
- Visit the Smoke Free website and complete an online form.
- Call the North Carolina Care-Line at 800-662-7030 (TTY 1-877-452-2514), which is open 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., seven days a week. Care-Line services are available in more than 150 languages.