Yelp is now dishing the dirt on the most disgusting Hudson Valley restaurants.

While searching for local restaurants on Yelp, I stumbled across a new feature that was just launched last week. The business rating website is now posting information from local health departments on each restaurant's page, alerting diners to unclean conditions.

Restaurants' "Health Scores" are compiled from data provided by HDScores. The web-based app collects public data from the NYS health department and turns it into a score based on inspection results. The Health Score is calculated using an algorithm that searches critical and non-critical violations found by past health inspections.

Consumers can now easily check a restaurant's cleanliness by searching for them on Yelp, allowing them to make a more informed decision before heading out to eat. Some restaurants are upset with the feature, pointing to the fact that inspections aren't done often enough. A bad grade, they say, may actually be from a year ago.

I personally love the idea. I think the more information diners have about the cleanliness of a restaurant the better. Foodborne illness is nothing to take lightly and I want to know about restaurants that have a history of failing inspections before putting my family's health in their hands.

Yelp is also encouraging customers to report any additional health complaints about local restaurants such as potential foodborne illnesses and other health code violations through their website.

What do you think about the new Health Score feature unveiled by Yelp in the Hudson Valley? Will you use the feature before eating out? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below or on our Facebook page.

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