Thumbs Up for Food Safety

About the Program

Thumbs Up for Food Safety is a volunteer program that is a "win-win" program for both food establishment owners and the general public.

How does it work?

All food establishments are inspected by the local Health Department one to three times each year to ensure that the Illinois Food Service Sanitation Code is being followed.

In the code are critical items that are more likely to cause food-borne illness. These critical items include, but are not limited to, things such as improper food temperatures (during cooking and holding), poor personal hygiene (not washing hands, working while ill, etc), and the presence of unsafe or contaminated foods.

A "thumbs-up" is removed from the Thumbs Up Score Card for each critical item found during the inspection. A food establishment with no critical violations will retain all five "thumbs-up."

Thumbs Up Food Safety Score Cards are then posted in a visible area, generally on the front door or near the cash register.

Participating Food Establishments

Although all food establishments in Perry County have been invited to join this program, not all have chosen to participate.

A current list of participating businesses can be found here.

We need your help!

If you have a food establishment that you like to visit, please ask the manager to join our program.


If you are a restaurant owner or manager, sign up to show your patrons that you are concerned about keeping food safe!

Get more information:

Get the Public Thumbs Up Information Document here.

Get the Food Establishment Thumbs Up Application here.