What to do during a Health Inspection

When the health inspector arrives (usually from a local or state health department), you should first make them feel welcome. They are not the enemy; they are there to affirm that establishments are not serving consumers with poor quality food.

But don't go as far as giving them complete access to the operations and hoping that they would give you a good grade. There are some things that you should always do when the inspector begins the inspection, and likewise, ther are some things that you should never do.

What you should do:

• The first thing that you should do when the inspector arrives is verifying credentials.If the inspector offers you his/her ID voluntarily, then great! However, if it is not offered, then ask for it. If you are still unsure about authenticity, get in contact with the health department in order to verify. This step is important because some people use fake credentials in order to scam businesses to access information about competitors.

• Next, you should accompany the inspector throughout the inspection. He/she should not be left unattended at any time. This is especially important, so you can catch any possible violations firsthand. Also, it should be noted that you could correct some violations on the spot. The inspector will log in the report that the violations were corrected on the spot.

• You also should sign the report. Signing the report doesn't mean that you are agreeing with the findings in the report. Instead, it indicates that you have received your copy.

• Lastly, ask questions and for explanations into the grading. This is helpful in case you don't understand a certain violation. Without understanding the problem, you won't be able to correct it.

Be Assertive and Proactive during a Health Inspection

The manager should be looking for any potential critical violations that could happen and coach employees to ensure they follow appropriate procedures so needless critical violations aren't found. These 10 areas are the most critical and need the most attention:

1. Hand Washing: During the inspection, if there is a time when an employee should was their hands, tell them to do so. Don't hold your breath and pray that they do it. Tell them so it's not a violation.

2. Employee Food and Drinks: If any employee food or drinks are spotted while walking through the kitchen with the inspector, discard them immediately. Even if the inspector sees these items, the inspector will be encouraged that the violation was corrected before having to tell the manager.

3. Gloves: Make sure line cooks are wearing gloves if they're handling food, and make sure they wash their hands before putting on gloves. Often, kitchen employees get nervous when an inspector arrives and they immediately put on gloves. They only need to wear gloves when handling food with hands, but it's extremely important they wash their hands before putting on gloves.

4. Food Out of Temperature: When temperature-abused food is found, take appropriate action. If it's a few degrees warm, try to add ice. However, if it's closer to 50 degrees F, discard it. Food that far out of temperature will worry the inspector and may compel him to return soon, often at the restaurant's expense.

5. Sanitation: Always make sure the towel buckets have sanitizer and the dish machine is sanitizing. If they aren't during the inspection, get them corrected right away. If a repair-person needs to be called, do it.

6. Towels: Look for any towels laying around, this is a violation

7. Chemicals: Be aware of any improperly stored chemicals

8. Paperwork: Always know where your Safety Data Sheets are and how to use them

9. Servsafe: Always know where to find servsafe certificates

10. Illness: Always be prepared to name off important illnesses. 

The manager should be very vocal with the staff during a health inspection. This shows the inspector that the manager knows what the regulations are and is actively trying to keep employees in compliance.

Be Prepared

The food code lists many regulations, some obscure and vague; however, all are important. A new manager should start with critical violations. During a health inspection, these will hurt a restaurant the most in terms of inspection scores.

Manage the Inspection

Every day, a manager controls the flow of the restaurant during operations by managing employees, monitoring food quality, etc. So why not do the same for a health inspection? Be confident with the inspection process, so when it really does happen, there are no surprise and issues can be addressed quickly and appropriately.