"Let the buyer beware," goes that old doctrine of commerce. But that doesn't apply so neatly to the food-service industry. That's because the culprit in restaurant sanitation complaints is a microbe that can't be seen, one that may be proliferating in a hidden spot.

So this is why restaurants need sanitation permits and inspections, to cut the chances of food-borne illnesses.

The events leading to the temporary closure of Sekiya's Restaurant highlighted a public safety net that ultimately protected the consumer, but is under strain.

Things are rarely ideal for food-safety inspectors. The infectious agent can't always be confirmed on premises, and even more frequent inspections provide only a snapshot of restaurant practices.

But understaffing surely lies at the heart of this problem. A total of 12 inspectors cover an estimated 9,000 permitted eating establishments statewide — down from about 20 who managed the work before budgets were cut most radically in the 1990s. The first priority has to be placed on funding to restore staffing levels, at least enough to meet the goal of annual inspections.

Secondly, there's the issue of public accountability. Hawai'i law requires that the sanitation permit be posted prominently where customers can see it, but other states go further than that. For example, California and North Carolina are among the states where the actual grade given by inspectors is also posted. That would be easy to replicate at minimal cost.

Some states also have an electronic database so consumers can look up a restaurant's inspection records.

The Health Department plans to create such a database, replacing the unwieldy current system of hand-written forms that aren't easily retrievable by the public. Funds for this upgrade are short — the emphasis must remain on inspection staffing — but a scaled-back version offering at least thumbnail data on restaurants should be possible.

Meanwhile, the burden will rest with consumers to report any signs of uncleanliness of mishandling of food to the department. The buyer, in fact, must beware.