Health inspection scoring systems vary so wildly across 3,000+ local jurisdictions that a restaurant scoring 'A' in one county would score 'C' ten miles away

Health inspection grading criteria, scoring weights, violation categories, and grade thresholds are set independently by each of the roughly 3,000 local health departments in the US, with no federal standardization. So what? A restaurant with identical food safety practices can receive an 'A' grade in Los Angeles (where 90+ out of 100 earns an A) but a 'C' in a neighboring county that weights the same violations differently or has a stricter threshold. So what? Multi-location restaurant operators cannot implement a single food safety compliance program — they must maintain separate checklists, training protocols, and corrective action procedures for each jurisdiction, multiplying compliance costs. So what? Consumers cannot meaningfully compare health scores across jurisdictions, undermining the entire purpose of public health transparency; a 92 in one county is not the same as a 92 in another. So what? Restaurants in stricter jurisdictions face a competitive disadvantage — a visible 'B' grade drives away 10-20% of walk-in customers, even when the restaurant meets or exceeds the safety standards of an 'A' restaurant one town over. So what? This discourages operators from opening in stricter-scoring jurisdictions, creating food deserts in areas where health departments happen to grade more harshly, while lenient jurisdictions mask genuine safety risks. This persists because health inspection authority is a local government function under the 10th Amendment, and there is no political incentive for any single municipality to cede its scoring system to a regional or national standard — local health directors protect their autonomy, and harmonization offers no clear budget benefit to any one jurisdiction.