And in the coming months, parents can check out health inspections for schools, day-care centers, public pools, tanning salons, body art parlors, even dog kennels - and again it's only for those in Davis County.

Everyone else along the Wasatch Front must call or visit local health departments for similar information.

Posting restaurant inspection reports "is a good idea," said Farmington resident Barbara Fadel. "I probably wouldn't use it for restaurants that we've gone to for years, but I would for a place that I was not familiar with."

But the owner of Sill's Cafe, a popular eatery in Layton for the past 50 years, has . . . well . . . reservations.

"I'm not sure this will be helpful," said John Sill. "We could get written up for anything, like the time we put cooking utensils on a pegboard."

Officials made the reports available last week for the more than 600 eateries in Davis County, with information dating to Jan. 1. During the first week of operation, the Web site recorded 44,000 hits. From now on, all reports will be listed online, with the most current information listed first.

Typically, inspectors visit each eatery in the county twice a year to ensure that restaurants are complying with safe food-handling practices.

Previously, consumers who wanted health information had to stop by the department's Farmington office and wait while staffers pulled the file folder and photocopied inspection forms. Now, the information is posted online the same day as an inspection or no later than the next day.

The new system "is a win-win for our citizens to have timely, accurate inspection results at their fingertips," said Delane McGarvey, director the county's Environmental Health Service Division.

McGarvey said the online system is the first in Utah to publish complete inspection reports.

Utah County, for instance, has no such information on its restaurants.

In Salt Lake County, the only information posted online is names of restaurants closed because of an imminent health threat.

And the Weber-Morgan Health Department lists online enforcement actions taken against restaurants, such as closures or significant health risks to the public.

Most who don't offer the public service cited the expense and time needed to coordinate data systems for such an effort.

Davis County officials are working to post inspection reports online for pools and spas, tanning salons and body art parlors. Inspections for schools are expected to be posted this fall, while other reports could be available by the end of this year.

Online reports would also include small licensed day-care centers. Although Davis County contracts with the state to inspect larger day-care centers, that information is passed along to the Utah Department of Health.

State health department spokesman Charla Haley said it could take three to five years before online reports are published for all licensed day-care centers in Utah.

dawn@sltrib.com