How To Read Food Establishment

Inspection Reports

Food service code violations are broken into two categories: Critical & Non-Critical. Critical violations are those that could lead to potential food-borne illness if not corrected and includes areas of employee health, hygienic practices, temperature control, food source/condition, cross contamination & food contact surfaces. Non-critical violations deal with issues that are important for proper operation of the facility, but may not individually lead to food-borne illness. Examples would be condition/cleanliness of non-food contact surfaces, hair restraints, thermometers, ceiling vents, trash dumpsters on ground, etc. Non-critical violations should be corrected before the next inspection. Facilities that have 12 or more non-critical violations will be placed under work order requiring compliance within 10 days.

There are some abbreviations used in the inspection reports:

• FCS = Food Contact Surface
• NFCS = Non-food contact surface
• PHF = Potentially hazardous food
• RTE = Ready to eat
• HACCP = Hazard analysis critical control points or the code
• PIC = Person in charge

The frequency of inspection in a facility is based on the level of risk. This is determined from the type of products served. If products are held before service, number of high hazard steps in food preparation, etc. Facilities that are High Risk will be inspected at least annually, Medium Risk facilities at least every 15 months & Low Risk at least every 18 months. These are referred to as routine-inspections. If there are critical violations observed, a re-inspection will be conducted with-in 14 days. A facility with serious violations can be placed under a work order, which is a legal step toward a closing order. If a citizen has health concerns with a facility and makes a complaint, the facility will be inspected as a complaint inspection.

Food service inspections will be posted the month following the inspection. A single inspection report should not be used to evaluate the performance of a food service operation. Review of a series of inspection results over time will give a more accurate picture as to the commitment of management to food safety/sanitation.