The primary objective is the inspection and enforcement of sanitary standards for restaurants, bars, markets, bakeries, schools, hotels, hospital kitchens, daycare centers, and nursing home kitchens in order to serve the public, respond to citizen concerns, and achieve corrections of violations.
Unannounced compliance inspections are conducted for locations that provide food to the public. When violations of State Health laws are identified, most are corrected on site by management during the inspection. If additional time is needed, the department conducts follow-up inspections to verify the items are corrected. Enforcement actions are taken when voluntary compliance is not achieved. The department currently permits 87 food establishments.
Major violations consist of improper cooking techniques or practices that could result in foodborne illnesses. The first group of major violations includes not re-heating food properly, not keeping food hot enough, not keeping food cold enough, and not cooking food to proper temperatures. The second group of major violations includes other practices by employees that could cause foodborne illnesses. Examples of these violations include not washing hands properly, no soap and paper towels at hand sinks, or improperly storing chemicals.
If you have a question, concern, or complaint, please feel free to call us at (806) 363-7103.