A Guide to Food Safety Practices

Our mission is to protect the health of all foodservice customers. The internet offers an opportunity to share information which may assist you in being a well-informed foodservice consumer. A person who wishes to serve food to the public is required by law to first obtain a license from Yavapai County Community Health Services. These licenses are issued following a review of facility plans and menu and assuring, by inspection, compliance with food safety standards and practices. Routine inspections during subsequent operation of the food service assess the operator's success in assuring that routine practices are conducted in a safe and sanitary manner.

If deficiencies are observed during these routine inspections, they are described in an inspection report with reference to a relevant section of the FDA 2017 Food Code. Such deficiencies are typically classified as Priority, Priority Foundation or Core. See definitions below. Ideally, an operation would have no Priority or Priority Foundation violations, or none which are not corrected immediately and not repeated. In our experience, it is unrealistic to expect that a complex, full-service food operation can routinely avoid any violations.

Keep in mind that any inspection report is a "snapshot" of the day and time of the inspection. On any given day, a restaurant could have fewer or more violations than noted in the report. An inspection conducted on any given day may not be representative of the overall, long-term cleanliness of an establishment. Also, at the time of the inspection violations are recorded but are often corrected on-the-spot prior to the inspector leaving the establishment.

About The Inspection Process and Enforcement Actions

INSPECTION PROCESS

• Inspection Frequency: Restaurant inspections are normally scheduled for two to three inspections per year, depending on the complexity of the menu, how much food is made from raw products, and how much is made in advance rather than cooked-to-order. Food-borne illnesses can increase with the number of times that a food product is handled during preparation. (For example: restaurants that handle food more frequently are inspected more frequently than a restaurant that serves food such as a sandwich made to order.)

• Violations (Three types of violations may be cited):
  • Priority item: Means a provision in this Code whose application contributes directly to the elimination, prevention or reduction to an acceptable level, hazards associated with foodborne illness or injury and there is no other provision that more directly controls the hazard.
  • Priority Foundation item: Means a provision in this Code whose application supports, facilitates or enables one or more PRIORITY ITEMS.
  • Core item: Includes an item that usually relates to general sanitation, operational controls, sanitation standard operating procedures (SSOPs), facilities or structures, equipment design, or general maintenance.
  • Types of Inspections
    • Routine: This is a scheduled inspection, unannounced to the restaurant. An inspector will conduct a complete inspection covering all items in the regulations for compliance.
    • Reinspection: This is an inspection for the specific purpose of re-inspecting items that were not in compliance at the time of the routine inspection.
    • Repeat Reinspection: This is an inspection for the specific purpose of re-inspecting items that were not in compliance at the time of last reinspection.
    • Provisional: This is an inspection conducted during the first 90 consecutive days of operation. The purpose of this inspection is to evaluate the operation during the initial probationary period.
    • Compliance: This is an inspection conducted to evaluate specific violations that have continued to occur on consecutive inspections. The purpose of this inspection is to gain long term control on repeated violations.

Other inspections that are conducted but not included on this website are: complaints, risk control plans, consultations, plan reviews, openings and notice of violations.

ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS

Yavapai County Community Health Services imposes the following types of enforcement actions:
  • Suspension of permit to operate for imminent health hazard: The license is suspended and a directive is given to cease and desist using unsafe portions of the facility or the entire facility to ensure public health. A hearing is not required to suspend a permit, but the opportunity must be given for a hearing after the suspension is in effect. Grounds for closure due to imminent public health risks may include but are not limited to:
    • No hot water
    • Sewage backups or overflows
    • No utilities
    • Fire
    • Pest infestation
    • Contaminated food
    • Food-borne illness outbreak
    • Inadequate refrigeration
    • Flood
  • Revocation of permit to operate: Restaurant is closed due to accumulation of repeat, continuing and flagrant violations of the regulations that could lead to food-borne illness. Before the revocation, an opportunity for a hearing must be given to the restaurant operator.
To view inspections of food establishments, click on the locality where the establishment is located in the left column of this page.