ONLINE FOOD INSPECTIONS

On March 11, Harris County Public Health and Environmental Services (HCPHES) will launch online access to inspection results of the retail food establishments that it inspects.   As a result, inspection reports for the approximately 6,300 retail food establishments in unincorporated Harris County and the 20 smaller cities in which HCPHES conducts food inspections are now more readily available to the public.

HCPHES inspects food establishments from one to six times per year depending upon risk factors such as the type of food prepared, how the food is prepared, how well the establishment has rated in the past, and the amount of control the manager has over food operations.

Dr. Herminia Palacio, Executive Director of HCPHES, said, “While an inspection is simply a snapshot of the conditions of a food establishment at a particular point in time, we are excited about bringing this capability to Harris County residents.  This new service will help them make informed choices about a food establishment prior to dining there.” 

Explanation of Violations

If a food establishment has not complied with a food safety regulation, the establishment is given a violation.  Violations are grouped into critical and non-critical violations.  Only critical violations will be posted online.  

Critical violations, if left uncorrected, are more likely than other violations to contribute to food contamination, illness, or an environmental public health hazard.   Examples of critical violations include improper cooking, cooling, or reheating of foods.   Establishments that have a lot of critical violations are given a follow-up inspection to insure correction of the violations. 

Non-critical violations do not directly cause food contamination, illness or environmental public health hazards.  But if left uncorrected, they could eventually lead to critical violations.   Examples of non-critical violations include burned-out light bulbs, damaged ceiling tiles, and dirty floors. Although non-critical violations must be corrected, the inspectors focus on the correction of critical violations.

Food Inspection Web Page

Inspection reports for the previous 12 months will be available so residents can see how well a food establishment has complied with food safety regulations over the past year.  While on the website, residents can conduct a search by the food establishment’s name or part of the name, first letter of the name, street name, complete street address, zip code, or type of establishment (e.g. restaurant, bar, etc.).  Once the appropriate restaurant is found residents can also click on a link to get a map/directions to the establishment.

Violations that reflect the five critical risk factors for food borne illness outbreaks will be identified with an asterisk.  The five critical risk factors are:

• Improper holding temperatures
• Inadequate cooking
• Poor personal hygiene
• Contaminated equipment
• Food from unsafe sources

You can access the HCPHES online food inspection reports by clicking on the Food Establishment Inspection Results link at www.hcphes.org.

HCPHES FOOD SAFETY AWARD

HCPHES also announced the launching of the Harris County Public Health and Environmental Services (HCPHES) Food Safety Award, which will be presented to restaurants and mobile food units that demonstrate the highest standards of food safety and sanitation practices.  The awardees will be presented with a plaque and a door decal suitable for display as visual evidence of their superior food safety practices.  They will also be recognized on the HCPHES online food inspection web pages and in an HCPHES press release.

The first recipients of the HCPHES Food Safety Award will be announced in March 2009.   

To win the award, food establishments will have met twelve stringent criteria over a twelve month period.  These criteria include perfect inspection scores, approved food handler training, and procedures to insure active managerial control over food safety and sanitation conditions (such as a policy of prohibiting bare hand contact with ready-to-eat food). 

 “This Food Safety Award will serve as recognition of the excellent food safety procedures in establishments that are doing an outstanding job and also act as an incentive for establishments who have room for improvement.  But the best part about the Award is that the public benefits as well,” stated Dr. Palacio.

##