Data Sources & Attribution
Last updated: September 19, 2026
Every inspection score in Inspect My Chef™ comes from the public records of the government agency that did the inspecting. We do not generate, edit, or alter inspection findings. We gather these records, keep them current, and credit each source clearly, as its licence requires.
Native ratings, no conversion
The app shows each authority’s own rating — North Carolina’s sanitation score and grade card, Alabama’s 0–100 score, the U.K.’s 0–5 Food Hygiene Rating — with the inspection date beside it. We do not translate ratings into a score of our own. See how ratings work.
Sources in the app today
Six cities in two countries: four U.S. cities — each covering its whole county — and two U.K. cities. Before a source is added we check two things: that its licence or public-records status allows this use, and that its data is complete and current enough to rely on.
Charlotte — Mecklenburg County, North Carolina
Mecklenburg County Health Department — Environmental Health
Dataset: North Carolina Environmental Health public inspection portal (county 60) — restaurants, food stands and limited food service establishments
Licence: Public record under the North Carolina Public Records Law (N.C.G.S. Chapter 132). The portal publishes no licence or reuse terms.
Credit shown in the app: Inspection data: Mecklenburg County Health Department via the N.C. Environmental Health public inspection portal.
100-point sanitation score with an A / B / C grade card. Covers the whole county, including Huntersville and Pineville.
Visit official source →Raleigh — Wake County, North Carolina
Wake County, North Carolina — Wake County Open Data
Dataset: Food Inspections (Wake County Open Data, ArcGIS) — restaurants and their inspections
Licence: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Credit shown in the app: Inspection data: Wake County, NC (Open Data, CC BY 4.0).
100-point sanitation score with an A / B / C grade card; inspection history back to September 2012. We reformat the county's records for display and do not change scores or dates. Wake County makes no warranty about the data and is not liable for errors in it.
Visit official source →Gastonia — Gaston County, North Carolina
Gaston County Health Department — Environmental Health
Dataset: North Carolina Environmental Health public inspection portal (county 36) — restaurants, food stands and limited food service establishments
Licence: Public record under the North Carolina Public Records Law (N.C.G.S. Chapter 132). The portal publishes no licence or reuse terms.
Credit shown in the app: Inspection data: Gaston County Health Department via the N.C. Environmental Health public inspection portal.
100-point sanitation score with an A / B / C grade card. Covers the whole county, including Belmont and Mount Holly.
Visit official source →Birmingham — Jefferson County, Alabama
Jefferson County Department of Health — Food Protection
Dataset: Food Service Scores (jcdh.org), county-wide
Licence: Public record under the Alabama Public Records Law (Code of Ala. § 36-12-40). The site publishes no reuse restriction.
Credit shown in the app: Inspection data: Jefferson County Department of Health, Alabama.
0–100 inspection score shown with the Alabama Department of Public Health's bands. Covers Birmingham, Hoover, Homewood, Bessemer and the rest of the county. Institutional kitchens such as schools and daycares are not shown.
Visit official source →London and Brighton & Hove — United Kingdom
Food Standards Agency (FSA), with the local authorities that carry out the inspections
Dataset: Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS) open data — the 33 London local authorities and Brighton and Hove
Licence: Open Government Licence v3.0
Credit shown in the app: Food hygiene ratings © Food Standards Agency — contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
0–5 Food Hygiene Rating in the FSA's own wording, always shown with the date it was published. We do not use the FSA logo, and the FSA does not endorse Inspect My Chef.
Visit official source →Maps & locations
Most U.S. restaurant positions come from the U.S. Census Bureau Geocoder; some use OpenStreetMap data © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database License (ODbL). U.K. positions are the coordinates published by the Food Standards Agency. The map itself is Google Maps on Android and Apple Maps on iPhone.
Agency names & marks
We name each agency only to credit it as the source. Inspect My Chef is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any government agency or food-safety regulator, and we do not use agency logos.
Refresh cadence & accuracy
We re-check every source at least every two days and show the inspection date on every rating. Inspections happen constantly, so our copy can briefly lag the issuing agency. Where any inconsistency exists between Inspect My Chef and the official government source, the government source controls. Always confirm sensitive details with the relevant health department directly before making decisions that affect a restaurant’s livelihood or your own health.
Corrections & takedowns
Restaurant operators, government agencies, and members of the public may request correction or removal of any record they believe is inaccurate, outdated, or misattributed. Email Simtechaffiliate@simtaff.com with the establishment name, location, and the nature of the issue. We aim to reply within two business days; a confirmed fix appears at the next data refresh. See Support.
Questions
For licensing, partnership, or methodology questions, contact Simtechaffiliate@simtaff.com.
Inspect My Chef™ is a product of SimTech Affiliates LLC. This page is updated whenever a source is added or changed.