Use the health authority’s inspection report for dated violations, official actions and follow-up. Use customer reviews for a different question: what individual visitors report about their experience. A star rating is not an inspection score, and an inspection grade is not a review of taste or service.
When the two sources seem to disagree, first check the branch and dates. A recent review may refer to another location, and an old inspection may precede a later correction. Neither source automatically cancels the other; identify exactly what each one observed.
Trace inspection claims to the inspecting authority
An official department may use an external search provider. Follow the portal link from the authority’s own website rather than judging by a logo or a search-result title. A third-party page that displays a grade is a useful lead only when you can trace its facility, date and source back to the official record.
- FDA state retail food program contacts
- Canada restaurant inspection routing
- NYC Health Restaurant Grades
- LA County Inspection Results
- Australian Government food standards and safety
- Food Standards Agency Food Hygiene Ratings
Treat a copied grade as a claim until five details line up
Before repeating a grade, closure or violation from a review app, map listing or inspection directory, pin it to five details from the authority’s record. A screenshot with no issuer or inspection date is not enough.
- Branch: the exact street address and, when published, the facility or permit number
- Date: the inspection or enforcement date, not the date of the review or screenshot
- Authority: the city, county, state, province or other body that issued the record
- Source: the authority’s facility result or report URL, reached from its official site
- Later action: any later reinspection, correction, closure, reopening or appeal entry the authority publishes
Check the chronology when the sources disagree
Use the third-party page to identify the claim, then test that claim against the official record in this order.
- Search the authority’s system for the exact branch address and facility number rather than the restaurant name alone.
- Match the event type and date. A current grade, an individual inspection and a closure notice may be separate records.
- If the claimed event is missing, check the authority’s archive or ask that authority for the record; do not substitute a nearby branch or similarly named business.
- Read entries after the cited event. A later official action updates the timeline but does not erase what the earlier dated record said.
- Repeat only the claim you can link to the issuing authority, with the branch and date attached.
What each source can support
The official record can support a dated inspection or enforcement statement. The review can support only what that reviewer reported about a visit, and a third-party display remains a pointer until its branch, date and issuing source are verified.
| Source | Useful evidence | What it cannot establish by itself |
|---|---|---|
| Official inspection report | Inspection type, findings, dates, corrective actions and later official events. | Conditions at every moment or the quality of a meal. |
| Customer review | A person’s reported visit, service, food or experience at a stated time. | A verified violation, legal closure or official inspection score. |
| Third-party grade or score display | A route to the underlying facility record if its authority and date are supplied. | That the copied status is current or belongs to the correct branch. |
If you need to describe a violation or closure, cite the authority’s dated finding and check later actions. If you describe a review, identify it as the reviewer’s account. Do not turn a negative review into an official safety finding or turn a later positive review into proof that a violation was corrected.