The City of Amarillo has rolled out a new food establishment permit and scoring system.

The new scorecard system uses an alpha-numerical grading system, similar to letter grades in public education and provides two previous inspections, and identifies if any serious violations were discovered during inspections.

The new scorecard system which was created in-house by the City of Amarillo Environmental Health Department was approved last year by Amarillo City Council and implemented in January and has shown success.

City of Amarillo Environmental Health Director Anthony Spanel. “The intent of the change was to highlight what facilities did right instead of what they did wrong. We wanted facilities to be proud of their grades and hard work, and to give context behind the grade.”

The scorecard system has drawn interest from cities across the country, including Garland, which recently requested a copy of the scorecard system for consideration by its city council.