COLUMBIA, S.C. – The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control has developed a new tool to help people avoid eating at restaurants with sub-par sanitation scores.

The app, called SC Food Grades, is available on both desktop and mobile devices and provides information for over 18,000 retail food establishments including restaurants, grocery stores, food trucks, convenience stores, schools and other institutions. The new web application features an advanced search and an interactive map that allow people to see the two most recent inspection scores and past official inspection reports at the touch of a button.

The DHEC says the scores were previously available on the department’s website, but the new application is a more user-friendly way to provide up-to-date information and increase food safety.

You can access the database by visiting their website at www.scdhec.gov/foodgrades.