Peoria City/County Health Department honors businesses that 'go above and beyond'

The Peoria City/County Health Department recognized recipients of the 2023 Food Safety Excellence Award on Monday night.

The award was broken into three categories: gold, silver and bronze. The Board of Health meeting at the North Branch of the Peoria Public Library recognized businesses that earned gold or silver awards.

Establishments needed to meet various requirements − such as having all necessary trainings and certifications and no instances of a license being revoked or suspended − to be eligible.

In total, the health department received 10 applications for the 2023 Food Safety Excellence Award. Roughly 900 establishments could have applied.

Applicants with zero priority or priority foundation violations – which also submitted three supporting documents – were eligible for the gold-level category.

Gold-level awardees included:

• BU Michel Student Center
• The Chef and The Baker
• Sophia’s Kitchen

More:The best and worst food inspections for January 2024 in the Peoria area

To be eligible for the silver award, applicants needed to submit one supporting document. Zero priority violations and a maximum of one priority foundation violation were permitted for inspections.

Silver awardees included:

• Brimfield High School
• Domino’s on Centerway

“The Food Safety Excellence Awards strive to recognize establishments that go above and beyond,” Environmental Health Coordinator Stephanie Streight said in a Feb. 7 press release. “We look at not only food inspections, but also the business’s dedication to food safety through the ongoing development of voluntary food safety practices.”

This year, the Peoria City/County Health Department introduced a bronze-level award. The category recognizes businesses that did not apply or submit additional documents but met the other requirements necessary for a gold or silver award.

More than 350 establishments received the bronze-level award. According to a press release Feb. 7, “Bronze-level awardees will be notified by mail.”