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Environmental Public Health Division

How to interpret the Inspection Information Page(s) – an item by item description

  • Name – name of the establishment
  • Facility Type – restaurant, bar, etc.
  • Inspection Type – routine, follow-up, etc.
  • Follow-up Inspection Required – The investigator determines whether a follow-up inspection is needed based on policies and procedures.
  • Foodborne Illness Investigation – An investigation is conducted when a consumer or a health care provider files a complaint of a suspected foodborne illness.
  • Foodborne Illness Lab Confirmed – Bacteria from both food samples from the establishment and specimens from patients (stools, blood) must match to definitively consider the establishment the source of a foodborne illness.
  • Complaint – A complaint was received regarding the food handling or sanitation practices of an establishment.
  • Citation Issued - Inspectors may issue a citation (ticket) for operating without a valid permit, operating under unsanitary conditions such as serious, repeated or multiple violations, or operating during an imminent public health hazard such as sewage back up in the kitchen.  (The establishment will also be asked to cease food operations if an imminent public health hazard exists.)
  • Was Red Tag Issued - Inspectors may place a piece of equipment out of service by affixing a  red tag to the piece of equipment that could cause a health hazard, such as a rusty meat slicer that cannot be effectively cleaned and sanitized or a dish machine that is not dispensing adequate amounts of sanitizer.  The red tag remains on the equipment until the inspector confirms that the equipment has been sufficiently repaired.
  • Number of Red Tags Issued – A red tag is issued for each piece of equipment that does not meet requirements.
  • Red Tags Removed – An investigator will remove a red tag when the piece of equipment has been adequately repaired or cleaned.
  • Number of Pounds of Food Destroyed - If food is considered to be unwholesome due to cross contamination, temperature abuse or other conditions, the investigator will ask the establishment operator to destroy the product.
  • Voluntary Closure - A food establishment will be asked to discontinue operations in instances where an imminent public health hazard exists because of an emergency such as a fire, flood, and extended interruption of electrical or water service, sewage back up, or other conditions that may endanger public health.
  • Voluntary Closure Removed – Before a food establishment is allowed to resume operations, an investigator must insure that an imminent public health hazard no longer exists.
  • Trained Manager On Duty – An investigator will mark whether a trained manager was on duty during the time of the inspection.  Harris County requires a manager trained in food safety to be on duty during all hours of operation. Establishments that do not prepare or package food and handle only prepackaged food are exempted from this requirement.  State law also exempts day care centers and schools from the trained food manager requirement. 

The following violations were observed out of a total of 27 different types of violations: 

Out of Compliance

Requirements

# of Demerits

Corrected on Site (marked yes if corrected onsite)

The entry will show either a “yes” for a violation or “no violations found.”

Type of violation (ex., hand washing facilities with soap and towels)

Each type of violation is assigned 3, 4, or 5 debit points by the State of Texas.

The entry will show a “yes” if the violation was corrected during the inspection.

Sum of demerits:  The sum of demerits in an inspection can range from 0 to 100.  The smaller the number, the better a health inspection report is from a food safety perspective. A number above 20 is generally of concern and a follow-up inspection may occur in the near future. 

*Inadequacies in requirements marked with an asterisk are most often associated with foodborne illness outbreaks according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Examples of violations for each of the 27 requirements of the Texas Food Establishment Rules.  The examples below do not cover all possible types of violations.

Requirements

 Examples of Violation

 1
Proper Cooling for Cooked/Prepared Food
  1. Cooling at room temp
  2. Cooling in deep pans (with food filled to the top)
  3. Cooling in covered container
  4. Improper time/temperature procedure for cooling to 41°F

 2*
Cold Hold
  1. Food that is time or temperature controlled for safety is held over 41°F for more than 4 hours

3*
Hot Hold

  1. Food that is time or temperature controlled for safety is held below 135°F on steam table, hot holding unit, grill, or stove for more than 4 hours

4*
Proper Cooking Temperatures

  1. Food that is time or temperature controlled for safety is not cooked to the proper temperature

5
Rapid Reheating

  1. Food that is time or temperature controlled for safety is not reheated to 165°F within 2 hours

6
Personnel with Infections Restricted/Excluded
  1. Employee has open sores or cuts on exposed areas that could come in contact with food
  2. Employee has upper respiratory illness, gastro-intestinal symptom(s), or any other symptoms that may threaten the safety of the food

7*
Proper/Adequate Hand Washing

 
  1. No soap, paper towels
  2. No water, hot water or cold water at hand sink.
  3. Improper hand washing technique
  4. Skipped hand washing when needed

8*
Good Hygienic Practices
  1. Open beverage container in kitchen
  2. Eating, drinking, smoking in unapproved areas
  3. Washing hands in food preparation or dish washing sink
  4. Handling food with a band aid (on)
    5. without use of a glove
  5. Using a hand sink for any purpose other than hand washing

9
Approved Source*/Labeling

 

   
  1. Using raw eggs for uncooked foods
  2. Home made food
  3. Unstamped meat, unlabeled food
  4. No oyster tags and no chronological record system kept for raw oysters
  5. Repackaging food without labeling new packages
  6. Unlabeled bags of ice
  7. Unlabeled donut/bakery display

 

10
Sound Condition
  1. Swollen, rusty cans
  2. Expired baby formula
  3. Insect/rodent contaminated food
  4. Visibly cross-contaminated food
  5. Food at improper temperature for more than 4 hours
  6. Sulfites on food that won’t be cooked  (lettuce, guacamole)

11*
Proper Handling of Ready-To-Eat Foods  
  1. Use of bare hand contact with improper hand washing/sanitizing procedures although proper documentation is in place
  2. Use of bare hand contact in a nursing  home, preschool or hospital
  3. Use of bare hand contact without the proper documentation

12
Cross Contamination
Of Raw/Cooked Foods, Other
  1. Raw animal food next to other raw or cooked ready-to-eat food during storage, preparation, holding or display
  2. Unused food served to one customer re-served to another customer

13
Approved Systems(HACCP, time as a public health control)

 
  1. No date marking of certain ready-to-eat foods that are prepared and held over 24 hours
  2. Improper procedures are used for certain foods that are allowed out of temperature control for up to 4 hours
  3. HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) procedures not used for specialized food  preparation/processing activities

14
Water Supply
 (for entire establishment)  

Water may be supplied by a public water system or by an approved well
  1. No water
  2. No hot water
  3. Inadequate water pressure
  4. No backflow prevention device installed where required to keep contaminants from entering the establishment’s water supply
  5. Well water does not have appropriate chlorine level
  6. Contaminated well water

15
Equipment Adequate to Maintain Product Temperature
  1. Inadequate number of working coolers
  2. No insulated containers for transportation
  3. Insufficient heating equipment for hot holding

16
Hand Washing Facilities Adequate and Accessible

   
  1. Blocked sink
  2. Inadequate number/placement of sinks
  3. Sink filled with items
  4. Hot and cold water are not combined by a mixing valve at the faucet
  5. Metered faucet does not run for at least 15 seconds
  6. Hot water heater not working (no hot water) at hand sink
  7. Hot water is less than 100°F at the hand sink

17
Hand Washing Facilities with Soap & Towels
  1. No soap
  2. No adequate drying device (blower, pull down towels, paper towels)

18
No Evidence of Insect Contamination

 
  1. Live insects inside and/or outside establishment– weevils, ants, roaches, flies, maggots, gnats, fruit flies, houseflies
  2. Insects in food (also #10)

19
No Evidence of Rodents/Other Animals  
  1. Live rodents and/or fresh droppings inside and/or outside establishment
  2. Rodent gnawed food products or droppings in food (also #10)
  3. Cats, dogs, frogs, birds (assistance dogs are allowed in some situations)

20
Toxic Items Properly Labeled/Stored/Used

 
  1. Unlabeled containers
  2. Chemicals stored over or next to food items, utensils, clean linens, or single service articles
  3. Open bait trays with rodent poison
  4. Unapproved rodent tracking powders
  5. Medicines not properly stored
  6. Too much sanitizer
  7. Empty used containers of cleaners that are used to store, transport or dispense food

21
Manual/Mechanical Ware (Dish) Washing and Sanitizing

 

 
  1. No water at 2- or 3-compartment sink
  2. Too little/no sanitizer
  3. Faucet doesn’t extend to all sink compartments
  4. Utensils/equipment not submerged in sanitizing solution long enough
  5. Use of 2-compartment sink when 3- compartment is required 

22
Manager Demonstration of Knowledge/Certified Food Manager
  1. Inadequate demonstration of food safety and sanitation knowledge or has no certified manager

23
Approved Sewage/ Wastewater Disposal System, Proper Disposal

 

 
  1. No mop sink
  2. Wastewater backup inside or outside establishment
  3. Overflowing grease trap inside or outside establishment
  4. Mop water not disposed of properly
  5. No toilet tissue
  6. Mobile units with no proof of visit to commissary or servicing area

24
Thermometers Provided/Accurate, Properly Calibrated

  1. No food temperature measuring device
  2. Thermometer is not accurate
  3. No thermometer that is designed to measure thin foods (patties and filets)
  4. No thermometer in hot or cold food storage unit

25*
Food Contact Surfaces of Equipment and Utensils Cleaned, Sanitized/Good Repair

   
  1. Cracked/chipped plates, cups, knives
  2. Cutting board cannot be easily cleaned
  3. Slime on soda nozzles, soda gun & holster, ice machine, yogurt machines
  4. Interior surface of microwave oven is cracked or damaged
  5. Can openers, knives, utensils not clean, broken, rusty (poor repair)

26
Posting of Consumer Advisories
  1. No notice to customers to use clean plates at buffet
  2. No Heimlich Maneuver (choking) poster
  3. No warning to consumers about the dangers of eating raw protein foods
  4. No identification to consumers of raw/undercooked protein foods

27
Food Establishment Permit
  1. Establishment has never had a food permit
  2. Didn’t renew food permit
  3. Failed to request a permit when ownership changed
  4. No State of Texas permit for packaging and labeling packaged or re-packaged food

 Select Food Inspection Program for more information about the food inspection process.

 

 

 

 


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Last updated:  April 16, 2009 
Harris County Public Health & Environmental Services
2223 West Loop South
Houston, TX 77027
Tel: (713) 439-6000
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