What does the health department look for when it conducts and inspection?
Health department inspections focus on the factors that have shown to cause most foodborne illnesses: food temperature control, worker hygiene, cross contamination and food protection. Inspectors monitor how quickly hot foods are cooled, how cold foods are reheated, to what temperatures foods are cooked, and at what temperatures refrigerators and hot holding equipment hold foods. Worker hygiene, hand washing, basic food safety knowledge, and bare-hand contact are also evaluated. How foods are stored and how equipment is cleaned and sanitized are assessed.
