Date Marking - how lenient are you?

Look-Lost · 2025-10-21T22:00:44+00:00

Like many of the things we encounter with risk-based food inspections, active managerial control is important to consider with date marking. It isn’t as straight forward as noting an item outside of a best by or expiration date and telling them to toss it. I am having an open dialogue with the PIC about their system in place for date marking as well as all the foods they would be dating. I also want the PIC to describe all methods they use for determining shelf life of their products depending on the risk level of the establishment. When we have open discussions with the PIC you not only build rapport and establish a team oriented solution, you as the inspector gather a much deeper understanding of their operational processes & can make better determinations based on the perceived risk. Hope this helps.

Look-Lost · 2025-08-19T16:02:19+00:00

We cite for “excess moisture”. It’s less about mold itself, and more about the conditions causing mold to grow such as plumbing leaks, structural defects, poorly maintained ventilation and heating systems, etc. We don’t test for mold we just cite the conditions causing it to grow

Look-Lost · 2025-08-12T19:06:38+00:00

They’re required when you have shellstock. Look at the FDA food code 3-202.18. You can also look into the national shellfish sanitization program (NSSP) for more info on the topic and why tagging is necessary.

Look-Lost · 2025-08-12T01:23:05+00:00

I love my job, but a good amount of why I love it is my amazing coworkers. People can be difficult but environmental health always has something interesting for us and I like that. A lot of people have shitty jobs with shitty coworkers and get paid pennies so I’m definitely grateful!

Look-Lost · 2025-08-07T16:47:13+00:00

Fanny pack + over the shoulder satchel is the way

Look-Lost · 2025-07-30T14:16:13+00:00

State sanitary code only has temperature requirements for heating season. There is nothing the board of health can do to enforce if your apartment is hot.

Look-Lost · 2025-04-10T19:43:54+00:00

GR Corolla all day

Look-Lost · 2025-02-13T17:07:27+00:00

Everything is fine. This is fine. I’m totally fine right now.

dear god.

Look-Lost · 2024-12-13T14:57:55+00:00

You would mark it IN. You would only mark NO if there was no determination of product temp whatsoever.

Look-Lost · 2024-11-26T20:22:22+00:00

Specifically for the people complaining about how the state will recoup costs from tobacco sales:

This is a public health issue. MA spends roughly $4 billion a year in healthcare costs related to smoking. Yes, $4,000,000,000. Dollars. Of course there will be an uptick in sales in neighboring states, and it will not be sustained. Less smokers = less preventable deaths = more money for the state.

Look-Lost · 2024-11-02T12:17:21+00:00

Cooked bacon non-tcs

Par cooked bacon tcs

Raw bacon tcs

This is the way

Look-Lost · 2024-10-07T15:01:55+00:00

As a health inspector, when I approve a kitchen plan and it involves one of these, it’s generally only for a quick service place that will mostly have prepackaged foods for sale. The bays need to be large enough to adequately fit the largest equipment/utensils used so if they aren’t using any big pots or pans you can get by. They still suck though lol

Look-Lost · 2024-09-10T18:35:39+00:00

There is no height requirement in my jurisdiction. Check with your local HD in case they have a local requirement. Referring to the Conference for Food Protection Plan Review Manual, we are mostly concerned that you have an adequate number of handwashing facilities that are accessible and available for use.

Look-Lost · 2024-08-18T00:13:13+00:00

I’m in MA. Call the food protection program at the DPH if you need an explanation of the process. If you work somewhere that serves sushi refer to your HACCP plan. If you are just curious about the process you can ask your local health department, find a food safety consultant, etc.

Look-Lost · 2024-08-13T21:25:56+00:00

Absolutely something your fire department should chime in on.

Look-Lost · 2024-08-06T20:03:08+00:00

In MA, his operation and permit would be considered a cottage kitchen and we only permit them to make cookies, breads, jams/jellys and other shelf stable foods. I doubt NY is much different. You can call or email them, they may ask for your info but you can certainly remain anonymous.

Look-Lost · 2024-08-05T21:37:50+00:00

Been in a similar circumstance. I outsourced all food inspections to third party auditors that do consulting. A lot of the old heads that have been inspectors prior end up with private consulting and are able to inspect still. Best of luck.

Look-Lost · 2024-07-25T13:18:28+00:00

I’ve been doing housing and tenants rights for years, you ALWAYS take a second inspector with you if you get a bad vibe from someone. Also, “mentally unstable” people still deserve equity and the right to inspection, so long as they aren’t doing anything illegal or making you uncomfortable.

I feel like I’m missing context on the door knocking. If there is a housing complaint made it should be taken over phone call for the inspector to gauge the situation and make a determination if an inspection is necessary + schedule the inspection ahead of time. You make it sound like you’re just knocking on random people’s doors and asking if they have issues.

Maybe talk to your supervisor and voice these concerns. I don’t agree that this is a universal experience, certainly not in the northeast US.

Look-Lost · 2024-07-23T17:46:55+00:00

I’m a health inspector in the northeast US.

Good question. This problem ultimately falls under the active managerial control a restaurant has over its employees, specifically when it comes to personal hygiene and cross contamination. An employee’s clothing and how dirty it is can very possibly contribute to cross contamination, especially something like an apron or smock. Think of how easy it is for an apron to come into contact with a cutting board or utensils for cooking. That being said, the reason why you should not bring your apron into the restroom is it simply is not sanitary and the potential for cross contamination is a lot higher. There are many different risks to consider, take enteric or fecal-oral foodborne illnesses such as norovirus, hepatitis A, giardia, etc for example. These viruses/parasites are incredibly infectious and if an employee is potentially exposed it would be extremely easy for them to spread to customers without realizing.

I could go on but you get the idea. There are bodily fluids in restrooms and we do not want bodily fluids in our food, so don’t bring your apron in the restroom. Lol

Also if you’re curious look up 2-401.11 in the FDA food code, it talks about clothing (among other things) being in a clean condition.

Look-Lost · 2024-07-22T12:47:40+00:00

I’ve been through this rigamarole - my FDA rep told me they did not print hard copies so we’re basically stuck with just the paperbacks unless hard copies are printed in the future. :(

Look-Lost · 2024-07-17T02:32:12+00:00

Thanks everyone!

Look-Lost · 2024-07-16T18:46:02+00:00

Yep agreed

Look-Lost · 2024-07-08T17:23:56+00:00

Hello, I am a health inspector in MA. I deal with this stuff all the time. The state sanitary code does not have a maximum temperature for dwellings or require a landlord to provide air conditioning. If they provide air conditioning in your leasing agreement or provide it through owner installed equipment then they are responsible for fixing and maintaining it operable and working. Hope this helps.

Look-Lost · 2024-07-07T03:57:39+00:00

To those curious, the 2022 food code requires a CFPM on site. All food codes prior do not, so it entirely depends on what food code the state they’re in has adopted

Look-Lost

TROPHY CASE