CLEVELAND, Ohio - Each year, cleveland.com publishes a series of stories identifying which food businesses have the most health department violations in the Greater Cleveland area. Often, restaurants and customers alike ask how these lists are formed and where the information comes from. Here is how we do it.
Where does the data come from?
Each year, cleveland.com requests data from the Ohio Department of Health from health departments across the state for the previous inspection year, which begins on March 1 and runs to Feb. 28 of the following year.
We request the data for our coverage area, which includes the facility name, address, number of violations, violation descriptions, inspectors and whether the violations are repeated or resolved.
The Department of Health collects data from over 50 county and city health departments that file their reports electronically. However, about half of the state’s health departments do not participate in the voluntary program first offered in June 2013. Information from those districts is missing.
Which areas are covered in these stories?
Three cities — Cleveland, Akron and Kent — all receive individual stories. Cleveland and Kent have their own health departments separate from the county.
We then write stories about five counties — Cuyahoga, Lake, Lorain, Medina and Summit. For Cuyahoga and Summit counties, the stories are focused on the suburban areas because we write separately about the cities.
Geauga and Portage counties do not participate in the voluntary Ohio Department of Health program.
Are all violations from each area’s designated health department?
Almost always is each city and county health department responsible for the violations a business incurs during inspections.
One caveat is that the state does its own inspections every three years in select locations in certain counties. For example, in the 2022-2023 inspection year Cuyahoga County went under this extra layer of inspections.
What if there are restaurants with the same name but multiple locations?
This happens a lot, mostly with large restaurant chains or gas stations. Because of that, we parse the data by both the name of a restaurant and an address to ensure we are as specific as possible and target an individual location.
Why do you break out violations by date in the story?
This is how violations are reported on the individual health department inspection portals. Additionally, if there are discrepancies or reasons for concern, we can narrow it down to specific periods to find an answer.
Also, sometimes a business has a bad day. One day of high violations may be enough to make the list, but it is not indicative of a full operational year.
What is the difference between critical and non-critical violations?
The health department identifies some violations as critical, which they say are of greater concern than other violations. Beginning in the 2021-2022 inspection year, we have added a story on businesses with just the highest number of critical violations in Greater Cleveland to spotlight the difference.
Where do you get the photos from?
A reporter goes out to the businesses to take the photos. Additionally, cleveland.com also checks to see if a business is still open, as Google isn’t always up to date. Sometimes, it’s hard to tell, even in person. Sometimes places close between when we write the story and when we publish.
Other FAQ
Does cleveland.com do these inspections?
No. Local health departments do all inspections. Discrepancies about the count or citations have to be addressed with whichever health department did the inspections.
I don’t believe I should be on the list. How can I be taken off?
We are transparent about the cutoff for each area we cover, whether it’s a city or an entire county. We must abide by what the data tells us, even if some locations have extraneous circumstances. We check the data for errors, like duplicated violations, but will not censure or change a list.
If you have questions, you may contact a reporter or editor at news@cleveland.com, who will get back to you as soon as possible.
Is there any bias in the list?
An inspector does each inspection, and not every inspector focuses on the same things. Some places get the same inspector throughout the year; some have to deal with multiple inspectors. There is no way for the data to reflect that information.
Can I access these records myself?
You can. Below is a list of each area’s inspection portals. This will also provide a clear breakdown of each facility’s violations.
Why doesn’t cleveland.com post the violation details?
It’s a long list. Some places have over 100 violations alone. In the past, we have experimented with providing databases. These stories are to tell you which places have a high number of violations and narrow down which places to look for in the health department portals if you have concerns.
Does this mean I shouldn’t eat at these places?
That is up to you. Sometimes, fan favorites make the list. Sometimes a well-known franchise will make the list. We have also seen people happily continue to patronize places despite being on the list for a particular year. Multiple reporters who have worked on these stories have stopped for lunch at restaurants on the list and would do so again.
We hear from people who thank us because health code violations are important to them. Others write in to say it doesn’t matter to them. It is entirely up to personal preference.