As one of Hawaii’s newest restaurants, Scratch became the first to receive a green placard July 21 from the state Department of Health, signaling that it passed a routine, surprise food-safety inspection.

The placards are popping up all over town, and though they may prove a hardship for many restaurants, they no doubt come as a relief to diners ever concerned about sanitation and food-sourcing issues.

Under the easy-to-understand "stoplight" system, the green "pass" placard is equivalent to a green light, a yellow placard signals caution — two or more major violations — and a red placard signals a shutdown due to health risks such as sewage overflow, vermin infestation, lack of hot water or other severe unsanitary conditions.

New rules require that ready-to-eat food not be touched with bare hands. This applies to the last person to touch food that will not be further processed before reaching the consumer. This person must use gloves or utensils, and employees must exercise better hygiene. Signs reminding food workers to wash their hands are now mandatory.

I’m happy about the latter, given one recent experience at a restaurant where my friends observed staffers of both genders using the restrooms and walking out without washing their hands. We were thoroughly disgusted, and when we told the manager, his only concern was whether it involved the chef. Hello? Waiters handle our plates, too. Hostesses hand us the menus.

Exemptions can be made — in cases of sushi chefs, for example — for those willing to adhere to stricter training and other rules, and provide written documentation of procedures and employee health status.

To view Hawaii Administrative Rules Chapter 11- 50 governing food establishments, visit the state Department of Health Sanitation Branch website, health.hawaii.gov/san.