The Naugatuck Valley Health District has released its list of restaurant inspections for the month of January.

Below is the summary of the list for the borough of Naugatuck.

The Connecticut Department of Health code requires that all food service establishments maintain a rating of 80 or above, said David Rogers, director of the Naugatuck Valley Health District.

“From a practical standpoint we sort of use the idea of pass or fail but it really doesn’t have any legal standing in the code,” Rogers said, adding that there is no order that prohibits labeling a business as “passing” or “failing.”

Eating establishments are rated one to four times a year. Ratings are available on a regular basis, and Naugatuck Patch will be posting the ratings once a month from now on.

Also, the code — which NVHD does its ratings by — states that food service establishments can’t have any uncorrected four-point items. Rogers explained how businesses’ rating can be docked points based on issues during inspection.

A one-point demerit could be given out for a minor violation such as the floor needs sweeping, wheras a two-point demerit can be handed out for an unclean meat slicer, fridge or other piece of equipment that makes direct contact with food.

A four-point demerit, the harshest one, can be issued for example if hot or cold foods are not maintained at the proper temperatures.

With that, Rogers said it’s possible that, for example, an eatery that may get an 88 score could only have a series of one- or two-point violations. However, a business with a higher rating, say 93, could have a four-point demerit and a few lesser demerits, he said.

“That’s part of the hazard of looking at the number,” he said, although he noted it’s nice for the public have the rating to go by.

As for cooperation, some businesses take time to address the violations by fixing up their restaurants, while others take a longer time.

Visit the Valley Independent Sentinel for a breakdown of how other Valley towns did.

Editor's Note: The listings previously contained incorrect inspection dates as being 2016, and not 2012. This has since been corrected.