Helping Your Clients Prepare for a Health Inspection

By Francine L. Shaw CP-FS.CFSM.FSP.FMP

If you are reading this, more than likely you are someone that trains individuals in the food service arena. Nothing makes these folks more nervous than a health inspector. Trust me, I know - I am a health inspector and I experience it firsthand. One of the advantages I have (I believe) is that I have worked both sides of the industry. I know what it’s like to be on the other side of the clipboard. As an operator I thought everyone operated like I did. I held cleaning parties every so often to deep clean, implemented cleaning schedules and back-up assignments - the whole gamut. This isn’t the norm. I am thoroughly amazed at the things I find. But that’s not what this is about; I want to help you help your clients feel more at ease with their health inspectors.

Let me begin by saying, health inspectors are like everybody else. We wake up in the morning wanting (sometimes praying) to have a good day. Health inspectors don’t go out looking for restaurants to shut down. We are willing and able to educate those who are willing to learn. We prefer the code violations be corrected as we conduct the inspection; this helps the operator with their overall rating.

So, what does the health inspector look for? We each have certain areas we focus on - I’m certain (for me it’s ice machines). The pictures I could show you – there aren’t enough words to describe. Overall there are some key areas:

• Proper hand washing stations

   - Hot water – at least 100⁰F

   - Hand soap

   - Paper towels/Air dryer

   - Trashcan

   - Signage

*When done correctly hand washing is the single most effective way to stop the spread of infections.

• Health inspectors need to make certain that the food is coming from an approved source. And, yes we may ask for the documentation. You might want an explanation of what an approved source is… I once walked into a restaurant right after a goat had been slaughtered in a kitchen – true story! That meat was not USDA approved.

• Health inspectors need to ensure that cooled foods are chilled in an appropriate amount of time. How can I verify this without temperature logs?

• Does the commercial/manual dishwashing station have the correct sanitizer concentration? How do you know if you don’t have test strips readily available? Locked in the office is not readily available.

• Health inspectors need to assure that there has been no cross-contamination between various products in the numerous storage areas.

• Are hot foods hot, cold foods cold, and frozen foods frozen? Sounds pretty straightforward, but temperatures are a key issue on health inspections. Primarily because most restaurants don’t keep temperature logs, therefore they don’t realize that the products aren’t the correct temperature. Heck, sometimes they don’t even have a thermometer!

These are just a few of the basics, but if operators have these items under control they are well on their way to a successful health inspection, which will make them feel more comfortable with their inspector! In the few hundred health inspections I do every year, the majority of them are fantastic operators!