What Happens During A Restaurant Inspection
By Mark Meske, R.S.
City of Wauwatosa Health Department
December 2013
During a restaurant inspection there are things an inspector looks at that can be looked for and grouped
during the inspection. Things such as food temperature, food storage, general cleaning, employee health,
safe food handling, utensil washing, employee hygiene, general maintenance of the equipment and
building.
A routine inspection is unannounced and the inspector enters the restaurant asks for the manager or the
person in charge. The inspector meets the person in charge and tells them why they are there. In this
case it will be the regular yearly inspection.
After introductions the person in charge is asked to show the inspector where the food license and the
food manager’s certificate is posted. The Wauwatosa Health Department contracts with the State of
Wisconsin to act as agent for the State in regards to the licensing and inspection of restaurants within the
City limits.
The license is just what you imagine it is, a written notice that the person and/or business may legally
operate as a restaurant. A restaurant is an establishment that prepares, serves or sells “meals”. Other
establishments that sell food not defined as meals will be issued different types of food licenses.
The “Food Manager’s Certificate” is a certificate issued by the State to a person after they have taken and
passed a food safety training class. The food class teaches about all forms of food safety. When the
student has successfully completed the class they apply to the State of Wisconsin and receive an official
“Food Manger Certificate”. State law requires that every restaurant have an owner, manager, or someone
in authority who has a current State issued “Food Manager Certificate”. This certificate is to be posted
near the restaurant license.
Both the license and the food manager’s certificate are inspected to make sure they are for the current
and for the correct establishment. The person in charge is asked if the food employee listed on the food
manager’s certificate is a current employee.
If the restaurant serves raw or undercooked food such as sushi, eggs cooked sunny side up, steak tartar,
rare steak or hamburgers, the menu must have a notice on it that eating raw or under cooked food may
cause illness.
Each restaurant is unique, even the chain restaurants. They are all arranged differently, cook different
foods, have different equipment, different numbers of employees, and different methods of training
employees. Because of this the manner and method of the inspection will differ. In which section the
inspection is started is at the preference of the inspector. In this case the inspection will start in the
kitchen or food preparation area.
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The inspector will watch the employees preparing and cooking food to see that it is done in a sanitary
manner. The reason inspections are made is to prevent disease from being spread by the food and to
ensure the health diners. No employee may touch ready-to-eat food with bare hands. They must use
tongs, spatulas, turners, deli tissues, gloves or other suitable utensils to handle and dispense ready-to-eat
food. The inspector will watch to see that there is no cross contamination of foods such as cooked
chicken being placed on a table with the blood and juices left behind from raw chicken prepared there
earlier. That food workers are not touching raw meat with the same tongs they use to touch the cooked
meat. It is now the employees can be questioned about the food with which they are working, such as,
where is this food stored before it is placed on the grill? The inspector will check to see that hazardous
foods are not left out at room temperature just so they are convenient to the cooking staff. The inspector
may ask them how they know when the food is thoroughly cooked. Do they use a thermometer, do they
cook by time or by the touch of the tongs?
You may ask them where they wash their hands or ask them exactly when they need to wash their hands.
Correct answers would include when they return from using the toilet room, when they change gloves,
when they cough or sneeze into them or when they touch something that can contaminate the food they
are preparing.
The cooking staff should know or have been taught what the safe holding temperatures are for foods.
Hazardous foods held cold shall be at 41°F or colder, while hazardous food held hot shall be at 135°F or
hotter. During this time the inspector will take temperatures of stored foods to see that they meet the
standards. Foods that have been cooked and are in the process of being cooled for storage shall be
cooled from cooking temperature to 135°F. From 135°F to 70°F in two hours, and from 70°F to 41°F or
below in four hours. Refrigerated (41°F) food that are being reheated shall be rapidly reheated from 41°F
to 165°F in two hours.
Note will be taken of the food employees attire. Clean clothing and appropriate hair restraint. Hair
restraint does not mean a hair net. There are many types of hats or other appropriate hair coverings. Are
food workers coughing, sneezing, or appear ill? Are they wearing unprotected bandages? Do they store
their utensils in a sanitary manner between uses? Are they eating while they work? Are they drinking
while they work, drinking is permitted with approved cups and glasses. Are the workers acting in a
responsible manner, no horse-play?
As the inspector passes through the areas of the restaurant they will note the conditions of the floors,
walls, and ceilings. Are they damaged and providing harborage for rodents and insects? Are they
deteriorated to the point that they are no longer easily cleanable? Have repairs been made to these
surfaces that are insufficient or incorrect?
Are all the lights working? Do the lights in food preparation, utensil washing, food dispensing and food
storage areas have the required protective covers? Bar sinks are considered active work surfaces and
require lighting over them so the bar staff can see what they are doing.
Are the required employee handwashing sinks present in food preparation, utensil washing and food
dispensing areas? Are the handwashing facilities properly supplied with hot and cold running water,
single use hand towels, soap and nearby waste containers? Do employee handwash sinks have nonhand operated faucet controls?
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Are the utensils and equipment in the kitchen the correct type and approved for commercial use? Are the
utensils and equipment in good repair? When non-operational equipment is found it must be repaired or
removed from the premises. Unused equipment creates harborage for insects and rodents.
The inspector will look for improper storage of toxic products—soap, hand lotion, personal medications,
insecticide or anything that would be hazardous to the customer if eaten. These items must be stored in a
manner that does not place them over, next to or in a position to contaminate food, food preparation
surfaces, stored food or single service articles. Storage of toxic products shall be on the lowest shelf, in a
separate room or on a shelving unit dedicated for only hazardous materials.
Cleaning is a variable thing. If the inspector is in the restaurant at one o’clock it is expected that there will
be more “working dirt” present from the current busy time. Whereas two to three hours after meal time the
kitchen will be cleaner. The inspector will look for dirt, grease and food particles left from past days.
Cleaning from between, under and behind equipment that is ignored. Remember that insects are small,
they do not need a large piece of food to make a meal and will survive quite nicely on crumbs. Cleaning
needs to be done daily.
During this time the inspector will ask the person in charge about when their various food suppliers make
deliveries to the restaurant. The operator will be asked who is present to receive and check in the food.
This is to determine that food deliveries are dealt with promptly. That food that needs to be refrigerated is
put into coolers and freezers. That food is not being delivered to a closed and empty restaurant—leaving
it sitting unprotected on a rear stoop.
The operator will also be questioned about their sick leave policies. Asking the person in charge, to whom
employees must report to when they call in sick or become ill at work. The operator will be asked whose
responsibility it is to find replacement workers if necessary. It should not be the job of the employee as
this may encourage some employees to work while they are ill.
If possible, now is the time for the inspector to take “cook temperatures”. This would be the temperature
of food as it comes from the cooking device to be served or held hot.
As the inspection proceeds rag-buckets will be noted and checked for appropriate concentrations of
sanitizer. All wiping clothes used moist are to be stored in a sanitizer solution between uses.
In each area of the restaurant, the inspector should stand and watch the work. How it flows, watching for
cross-contamination, temperature abuse and poor personal hygiene.
Most restaurants segregate the utensil washing area. Whether done by hand or machine there are three
primary steps to washing utensils. First, use soap and hot water to thoroughly clean the utensil of food
and grease. Second, use clear water to rinse the soap off the surfaces of the utensil. Third, sanitizing the
utensil using hot water or chemical sanitizers. Remember only clean utensils can be thoroughly
sanitized. Dirt and grease still adhering to the utensil will prevent the sanitizer from reaching the surface
of the utensil.
The most basic form of cleaning utensils is by washing by hand in hot soapy water, rinsing the soap off in
clear water and submerging the utensil in a sanitizer solution for 30 seconds. Washed and sanitized
utensils are then left to air dry.
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The minimum equipment for utensil washing are sinks with adequate drain boards on each side. A
minimum of three sinks with bowls large enough to submerge 50% of the largest utensil are required. The
sinks will be rated by NSF (National Sanitation Foundation) or an equivalent organization for use of
utensil washing. This approval takes into account ease of cleanability, durability, surface finish and
construction. Each bowl is checked to make sure the drains work and that hot and cold water under
pressure are supplied. The sinks are checked for leaks in the water supply and the drains. Utensil
washing employees will be questioned as to the set up and proper use of the sinks. If the sanitizing sink
does not contain a solution the inspector will request that a sanitizing solution be mixed up and then the
concentration checked by the inspector. The inspector will ask the utensil washing employee or the
person in charge to produce the appropriate test papers for the sanitizer. There are four major types of
sanitizer and the inspector carries the four different test papers. The inspector will collect the name of the
sanitizer to record on the inspection report.
There are two different types of mechanical utensil washers, one that sanitizes washed utensils with hot
water and one that sanitizes washed utensils with a chemical spray. There are two types of bar glass
washers, one that sanitizes with a chlorine based sanitizer and one that sanitizes with an iodine sanitizer.
To check the dishwasher the inspector will observe the machine through several cycles, watching the
thermometers and chemical pumps to check for correct function. Wash water temperature of hot water
utensil washers must be 130ºF or hotter. Many of the machines are set to wash at 160ºF because the
soaps for these machines are designed for that temperature. If used at lower temperatures the soap may
not dissolve and provide poor cleaning.
Sanitizing of utensils in hot-water utensil washers is checked with the use of a temperature sensitive tape
with an adhesive backing stuck to a utensil and run through a normal cleaning cycle. The tape will change
colors from grey to black if sanitizing temperatures are reached (160 ºF or hotter. If sanitizing
temperatures are not reached there are many possible causes: the water supplied by the water heater is
too cold, the tips of the spray arms are clogged, heating coils in the booster heater have burned out, the
wash cycle is too cold and the sanitizing rinse water cannot raise the temperature of the cold utensil to
the sanitizing level or in flight type (conveyer belt) machines the speed of the conveyer is too fast or the
spray curtains inside the machine are installed in an incorrect order (allowing the wash water to mix with
the rinse water and lower it’s temperature).
Sanitizing utensils with a chemical spray machine is checked by running a utensil through a normal wash
cycle, removing the washed utensils from the machine as quick as can be done safely and touching an
appropriate test paper to rinse water remaining on the utensils. The test paper will turn color and the
shade or darkness of the color will be compared to a chart which will indicate the concentration of the
sanitizer in the rinse water. These test papers work like the pH papers we used in science class. The
name of the liquid sanitizer and concentration will be noted on the inspection report.
Bar glass washers come in two types, both are chemical sanitizing. There are cold water-wash and hot
water wash types of glass washers. This must be determined before the inspection and can usually be
done so by reading the data-plate located on the exterior of the machine. Checking the operation of bar
glass washers is the same as the utensil washers.
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The State Food Code does not require a pre-washing facility in restaurants unless conditions require such
unit. The Wauwatosa Food Code does require a pre-washing facility. A pre-wash facility is for dumping of
waste, scraping of gross soil from cooking and eating utensils and stacking of soiled utensils prior to
washing. Many pre-washing facilities include a garbage disposal. The pre-washing facility may be a
garbage disposal well with an overhead spray, a sink with hot and cold running water, a sink with hot and
cold running water and an overhead spray to pre-clean utensils before washing.
The floors in dish washing and food preparation areas shall be moisture and grease resistant. The lighting
fixtures in dish washing, food preparation and food storage areas shall have protective covers over the
bulbs. The ceilings shall be easily cleanable.
The inspector will watch the utensil washing employee work. Noting how they separate the clean from the
dirty utensils. How well they wash or load the utensil washing tray, making sure not to crowd or shield
other utensil surfaces from the washing and sanitizing sprays.
Because utensil washing areas are high moisture environments extra cleaning is frequently required to
keep mold growth to a minimum. Extra effort is needed to clean food and grease from the floors, walls
and equipment in this area so as to not provide food for rodents or insects.
Employee hand washing facilities in new and at the time of remodeling are required to be conveniently
located in food preparation, food dispensing and utensil washing areas. There is no set distance or
number of steps required between the work area and the hand wash facility. It is left to the judgment of
the inspector. Access to hand washing facilities may be blocked, and therefore not convenient, by
distance, walls, stairs, and location of equipment. The number and location of employee hand washing
facilities will be determined before construction by the inspector during the plan review. Hand washing
facilities are required to have a sink, hand soap and single use hand towels. The hand wash sink is
required to have hot and cold running water and non-hand operated faucet handles (such as the L-shape
wrist blade handles, knee or foot operated or electric eye). The sink may be provided with a single faucet
control that will provide tempered water (water at a temperature between 80ºF and 110ºF). Any toilet
room used by the employees must contain the same hand washing facilities.
Food storage rooms will provide shelving that is durable, easily cleanable and non-absorbent. Plastic or
metal shelving is common. Wood shelving can be used if the surfaces are varnished, painted or otherwise
sealed to prevent spilled liquids from soaking into the wood. The bottom shelf must be six-inches or
higher above the floor to allow for ease of cleaning and to check for rodent droppings, dead bugs or other
forms of infestation. The light fixtures in the storerooms must have protective covers on the bulbs.
During the inspection of storage areas the inspector will look for evidence of infestations of rodents and
insects. Are food packages chewed through, are there insects or rodents present, can the odor of mouse
urine be detected? Are the shelves regularly cleaned? Are the floors regularly cleaned? Cleaning of the
floors and shelves will help the operator notice the signs of infestation.
Areas where food and utensils are stored must have a finished ceiling. The finished ceiling requirement
also applies to food equipment such as food coolers, food freezers and ice machines.
Cleaning products and other hazardous non-food items cannot be stored over food products. They must
be stored on separate shelving, on the lowest shelves or in such a way that if the hazardous products
leak, the hazardous product would not fall on to food. This is true anywhere in the restaurant.
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Food storage equipment such as steam tables, soup crocks, bain-maries, hot and cold buffet tables shall
be maintained to keep the food at required hot and cold holding temperatures (41ºF or colder, 135ºF or
hotter). Decorations and garnishes shall not be used in a manner that prevents the effective cooling or
heating of these foods. Food shall be stirred periodically to aid in cooling and heating. Displayed food
shall be arranged to minimize patrons reaching over or across other food items. Displayed food shall be
protected from coughs, sneezes and dust by properly positioned food shields. Food dispensing utensils,
whether used by food employees or patrons, shall be stored between uses, in the food with the handle
up, clean and dry, or in a running water dipper well. Single-service, self-service beverage cups shall be in
a dispenser such that the patron touches only the cup they will use. Self-service eating utensils, whether
washable or disposable, shall be presented to the patrons with the handles foremost. Clean plates shall
be provided, at food bars, for successive servings.
Public toilet rooms shall meet the required building code levels for the numbers of urinals, water-closets
and hand-washing sinks. Every woman’s toilet room shall be provided with at least one covered waste
receptacle. Toilet room hand washing facilities shall be provided with a sink, hand soap and single use
hand towels. The hand wash sink is required to have hot and cold running water. The sink may be
provided with a single faucet control that will provide tempered water (water at a temperature between
80ºF and 110ºF). If employees also use the public toilet rooms, the hand wash sinks shall be provided
with non-hand operated faucet handles (such as the L-shaped wrist blade handles, electric eye, knee or
foot operated). Nothing may be stored in toilet rooms except those materials used in the toilet rooms. All
toilet room doors must be self-closing and kept closed except during cleaning, stocking and maintenance.
Air gapped drains are required at food sinks, dipper wells, ice bins, steam tables, and ice machine
storage compartments. The required gap ensures that if there is a sewer back-up, waste water will run
onto the floor instead of into the food.
Floors, walls and ceilings shall be kept in good repair—smooth and easily cleanable. A damaged surface
provides harborage for bacteria, insects and rodents. Damaged surfaces are treated as uncleanable and
must be made whole again.
All light fixtures shall be in good operating order. Light bulbs in food preparation areas, walk-in coolers
and freezers, food storage areas, bar sinks, utensil washing and food dispensing areas must have
protective covers over the bulbs.
Windows and doors shall be kept closed except when being used. The windows and doors to the outside
may be left open if screened with a sixteen mesh screening material.
The presence of insects, rodents, and other animals are not permitted in restaurants with the exception of
service animals and guard dogs led by their handlers during times the restaurant is not in operation.
Refuse storage areas both inside and outside shall be managed so as to minimize the presence of
insects and rodents. Waste containers shall be kept covered except during use and emptied as often as
needed. The ground, pavement or floors she be cleaned as often as required to deny food to bacteria,
insects or rodents.
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