Follow LA Observed on Twitter here
NBC4's interactive map of restaurants where food poisoning was confirmed.
In a Joel Grover investigative report last night, NBC4 drew a link between food poisoning and lack of restaurant inspections by Los Angeles County health inspectors. The existence of the "A" grade in the window doesn't mean the restaurant has been inspected any time recently, the report said, after producers reviewed county records. Wolfgang's Steakhouse in Beverly Hills, Coast Cafe at Shutters on the Beach hotel in Santa Monica, and Nobu in Malibu all had "A"s when people got sick there or when inspectors found critical violations, NBC4 says.
When the health inspector showed up at Wolfgang's Steakhouse in Beverly Hills last fall, he found a cockroach in the hall and poor sanitation in the kitchen. He found enough critical violations, he threatened to suspend their permit and said he'd be back in two weeks to make sure they had cleaned up.
But seven months later, the inspector still has never been back to Wolfgang's.[skip]
When I-Team examined the last two years of all restaurant inspections, it found thousands of high-risk restaurants aren't getting anywhere near the required three inspections a year.
When 13 people who ate at Nobu contracted potentially deadly Norovirus in November 2014, the restaurant hadn't had an inspection in over a year — October 2013. Nobu declined to comment to NBC4.
Shutters and Wolfgang's gave NBC4 statement saying they maintain the highest standards. The head of the county's inspection section said he would like to do more inspections:
"We could be doing a better job in many areas," says Angelo Bellomo, the head of the county's restaurant inspection program, and director of LA County Environmental Health.
The station has its data and a map of food poisoning cases online.
