Nearly a third of restaurants in Bedford were storing food at the wrong temperature, handling meals with bare hands or had insects and rodents, among other critical violations, yet overall most scored a 90 percent or better on their most recent inspections.

In addition to restaurants, the town inspects food service at nursing homes, day care centers, supermarkets and schools as well as everything from a strip club to a flower shop and home bakery.

Out of 94 restaurants and other places, 82 had scores of 90 or better; 11 were above 80; and one was below 80. Those below a 70 fail the inspection and are closed. But that has not happened in Bedford in more than 10 years, said Wayne Richardson, the town health officer.

The scores are a snapshot of a restaurant or other business on one day, town officials said. Many minor violations could cause a low score, while a restaurant that had one critical violation – minus four to five points – could still have a 90 percent. “It sounds kind of contrary,” Richardson said. “I can get a 90 and that should be an OK place to eat but, here again, ‘What caused you to get that 90?’”

There are 13 possible critical violations, ranging in seriousness from employees not washing their hands to rotten meat and contaminated water. There are 44 items town health inspector Gary Pariseau checks per visit. Restaurants start with an automatic score of 100, losing points for each violation.

The town has an agreement with the state that allows its officials to do health inspections in exchange for a commitment to use the state health code and inspection checklist. Bedford is one of only 15 towns and cities that goes it alone on food inspections.

Bedford officials say the program is evidence that local control works, at least when it comes to food safety. Since the town has its own health inspector, he can be more thorough, spending up to 45 minutes during each visit, following up several times if necessary, and doing full-scale inspections of the nearly 100 eateries once every six months, said Richardson.

The town program has made the public safer in Bedford, questioning whether state-run inspections would have achieved the same result, Richardson said. “The last I know there were 10 state inspectors to do over 5,000 restaurants,” he said. “You do the math.”

Bedford officials say their goal is to work with businesses. “I think it’s important that we work with them to make sure that the public is well-served,” said Town Manager Russ Marcoux. “That’s basically the premise. I think we do more than an excellent job.”

Richardson said there are two ways of approaching health inspections: enforcement or compliance.

“Enforcement is not the position you want to be in because all you’re doing is enforcing the rules. You’re not making the situation better,” Richardson said.

“Our goal ... is compliance. You work with people, you educate them, and try to help them understand why compliance is in their best interest.”

Until 2005, the town did not have a dedicated health inspector. Instead, one person inspected food service and buildings. During the building boom of the 1990s, food inspections were put on a back burner.

“The majority of our time was taken up with building permits,” Richardson said. “I mean it was just a phenomenal time of growth. We did the best we could.”

Three years ago, the Town Council put more resources toward the program, hiring Pariseau as a part-time health inspector. At first, restaurants had low scores. That they are higher today is evidence the effort paid off, officials say. “I can unequivocally tell you that in town right now there is no place in Bedford that is not safe to eat now because of the job that Gary is doing,” Richardson said. “There is no place that I don’t feel that any resident or visitor to the town should not feel comfortable going to.”

Skip Jackson, the managing partner of Carrabba’s Italian Grill, praised Pariseau for his diligent and methodical approach. “There’s been times where he has been very, very rigid but it’s been to our benefit,” Jackson said. “I think we’ve been very fairly handled.”

Jackson has managed restaurants and one microbrewery in six other states. The food safety inspections have been the strictest here, Jackson said. Carrabba’s has done well on the town program, he said, thanks to a private inspector the company brings in.

Marcoux touted the fact that he has never received a complaint about the food inspection process as another sign of its success.

“I have never had a call or visit from a restaurant or food establishment complaining about our inspection process,” he said. “Never. That says volumes, I think, for what we do.”

Even the restaurant that happened to have the lowest score within the past six months, Outback Steakhouse, had good things to say about the town program. As of Aug. 8, Outback was at the bottom with a 78. But since then, the restaurant has had another inspection, scoring a 94, according to Steven Gerrish, the managing partner.

Gerrish credited the quarterly food safety class run by the town as making the difference.

When the town inspected his restaurant in January 2008, Gerrish had a new manager on the job. The manager has since taken the town course. “That was a major improvement with the new management team,” Gerrish said.

Information about restaurants and other food service organizations is a matter of public record. Anyone who wants to know more about one of the food service establishments in townmay contact the Bedford Health Department at 472-3838. Pariseau and Richardson also can be e-mailed through the town Web site, www.bedfordnh.org.

How restaurants in Bedford scored

The list below shows the restaurant name, score, critical violations, if any. The scores and violations noted are for during the last inspection within six months. Health officials say the scores are a snapshot of a restaurant on a particular day and do not necessarily reflect on its overall safety. They emphasize the history and track record a business is the best guide.

Restaurants are listed in the order of their license number:
No Wheat Kneaded, 100
Quality Inn Restaurant, 94, holding temperature not cold enough.
Bedford Village Inn: Great House, 96; Bedford Village Inn: Carriage House, 100; Bedford Village Inn, 90, sanitizer rinse temperature not hot enough.
Harvest Market of Bedford, 95
Riddle Brook School, 100
Slammer’s, 93, holding temperature not hot enough.
Country Inn & Suites, 94, holding temperature not cold enough.
T-Bones, 87, sanitizer rinse temperature not hot enough, bare-hand contact with ready-to-eat food.
Manchester Country Club, 97
Carlyle Place, 100
Weathervane Seafood Restaurant, 93
Riverwalk Cafe, 89, barehand contact with ready-to-eat food, inadequate protection of food during self-service.
Bedford Foursquare Food Warehouse, 93, holding temperature not cold enough.
Walgreen’s, 99
Manchester Country Club: Snack Shack, 100
Carrabba’s Italian Grill, 98
Cityside Marketplace, 98
Bedford Springs Cafe, 100
Lunch Break Cafe 100
Laurel Center, 96, inadequate prevention of plumbing backflow
White Avenue Irving, 98
Chen Yang Li, 88, need insect screens, food contact with unclean equipment.
Frederick’s Pastries, 99
The Flower Cart, 100
AFC Sushi at Hannaford, 99
Yianni’s Pizza, 97
Papa Gino’s, 95
Dunkin Donuts (license no. 29), 99
Mark’s Showplace, 100
Ridgewood Center, 88, holding temperature not cold enough, sanitizer rinse temperature not hot enough.
Panera Bread, 94, food contact with unclean equipment
The Arbors, 95, inadequate protection of potable water.
That Extra Touch Gourmet & Gifts, 98
Luisa’s, 98
Taipei Tokyo, 97
Bedford High/Middle School, 98
Hannaford Food and Drug, 87, food contact with unclean equipment.
Mobil Convenience Store, 100
Camp Allen, 91, sanitizer rinse temperature not hot enough.
Kindercare, 88, sanitizer rinse temperature not hot enough, unacceptable hygiene practices
Hot Spot Cafe, 98
CVS Pharmacy, 99
Dunkin Donuts (license no. 45), 97
Hampton Inn and Suites, 100
Laurel Hill Jams and Jellies, 100
Briston Manor West, 99
Northeast Ice Cream, 100
Subway at Wal-Mart, 100
Celebrations at the Wayfarer Convention Center, 95
Bedford Cafe, 100
Dunkin Donuts (license no. 53), 95
Upper Ninety Cafe Building 1, 98
RPM Fuels, LLC Mobil Station, 100
Casa Blanca, 97
Pizza Mia, 99
The Meat House, 99
Target Store T-2009, 95
Bedford Deli & Catering, 99
Sushi by Jay, 98
Harborside Healthcare, 97
Pizza Bella, 99
Bedford Irving, 93, food contact with unclean equipment
Memorial Elementary School, 96, need insect screens.
Peter Woodbury School, 100
McKelvie Intermediate School, 92, evidence of rodents, inadequate sanitizer concentration.
AFC Sushi, 100
Bugaboo Creek, 94
Desserts by Donna, 100
Karen’s Kitchen, 83, need insect screens, unacceptable hygiene practices.
Dream Dinners NH. 100
C.R. Sparks, 81, inadequate protection of potable water, evidence of insects, sanitizer rinse temperature not hot enough.
Wal-Mart, 97
Rite Aid, 100
Stop ‘n Shop, 81, holding temperature not cold enough, evidence of insects, sanitizer rinse temperature not hot enough.
Outback, 78, unacceptable hygiene practices, evidence of insects, food contact with unclean equipment. Recently reinspected, scoring 94.
Dunkin Donuts (license no. 78), 97
Bedford Prime Meats, 94, inadequate sanitizer concentration.
Royal Bouquet, 100
Quality Inn Retail Food Area, 100
Upper Ninety Cafe Building 2, 98
Gloria Jean’s Coffees, 94, unacceptable hygiene practices
Applebee’s, 89, inadequate protection of potable water.
SERESC, 100
Pierogi Etc., 100
Auntie Kay’s Cookies, 100
Bedford Stadium Concession Stand, 100
PJ’s Flowers & Antiques, 100
Harmony Learning Center, 98
House on the Hill, 100
Bentley Commons at Bedford, 88, cleaning items not properly stored.
Bedford Custom Baskets LLC, 100
Joan Major, 100