Restaurant Inspections

Restaurants and other retail food establishments are scored using a risk index system. With a risk index system, as when playing golf, the lower the final number, the better. Violations are more heavily weighted when they pose a greater risk to the safe preparation of food. For example, not cooking chicken to the required temperature would pose a greater risk to a consumer's health than a kitchen floor in disrepair.

Depending on the violations and inspection score, a retail food establishment will fall into one of the following three categories:

Pass: Pass means the establishment meets fundamental food safety standards. The establishment could have some priority, priority foundation or core violations. Some or all violations were corrected during inspection. The risk index range is 0-49 total points. 

Re-Inspection: Re-Inspection means that food safety violations were found. Corrections may have been made but the rating requires a re-inspection to ensure basic food safety standards are met. The establishment has a higher level of risk with several priority, priority foundation or core violations. The risk index range is 50-109 total points. 

Closed: Closed means that significant unsanitary conditions or other imminent health hazards were found. The establishment has multiple priority, priority foundation or core violations representing high risk. Facility must cease operations until conditions and violations are corrected. Facility must receive prior approval by the health authority before reinitiating operations. The risk index range is 110 total points or higher.

Violations are more heavily weighted when they pose a greater risk to the safe preparation of food. For example, not cooking chicken to the required temperature would pose a greater risk to a consumer's health than a kitchen floor in disrepair.

Violations:

• Priority item means a provision in this code whose application contributes directly to the elimination, prevention, or reduction to an acceptable level, as well as hazards associated with foodborne illness or injury, and is used when there is no other provision that more directly controls the hazard and includes items with a quantifiable measure to show control of hazards such as cooking, reheating, cooling, or handwashing.
• Priority Foundation item includes an item that requires the purposeful incorporation of specific actions, equipment, or procedures by industry management to attain control of risk factors that contribute to foodborne illness or injury such as personnel training, infrastructure or necessary equipment, HACCP plans, documentation or record keeping, and labeling.
• Core item means a provision in this code that is not designated as a priority item or a priority foundation item and usually relates to general sanitation, operational controls, sanitation standard operating procedures (SSOPs), facilities or structures, equipment design, or general maintenance.

Restaurants are normally scheduled for one to three inspections per year, depending on the complexity of the menu, how much food is made from raw products, how much food is made in advance rather than cooked-to-order, whether there has been a suspected or confirmed food-borne illness outbreak or enforcement action, and if the restaurant serves a highly susceptible population.