Inspection reports are snapshots of the food handling at the establishment at the time of inspection. The lower the score, the fewer food safety violations observed at the time of the inspection. There are 418 possible points on the inspection report form.
What is a perfect score on an inspection report? Areas of focus include: ill food worker policy, hand washing, bare hand contact with ready-to-eat foods, food temperatures, food safety knowledge, cross-contamination, and sanitation. Inspections are risk-based and focus on those high risk factors most likely to cause food-borne illness. Changes that may have occurred in owner, management or establishment name are not shown. All inspection information will show under the current name of the establishment. There are approximately 2,300 permitted permanent food establishments in Spokane County.Įstablishments are assigned a permit number based on their physical location. These establishments include restaurants, schools, mobile vendors, coffee houses, delis, convenience stores, grocery stores, temporary events and other sites where food is sold or served to the public. Retail food establishments that serve food to the public are inspected by the health district. Complete inspection reports are public records and may be requested through a Public Records Request at the Spokane Regional Health District Environmental Public Health office, 1101 West College Avenue, Room 402, Spokane, Washington. Only shortened versions of routine, first re-inspection, second re-inspection, and follow-up inspection reports are available online. Food establishment categories are determined by the menu and methods of food preparation. Establishments in the Complex Food Establishment category are inspected at least twice a year. The rules require that most food establishments be inspected at least once every year to determine if they are in compliance with the rules.
How often are food establishments inspected? The inspection reports are used as tools to measure compliance with the food safety rules, highlight areas to educate the operators, and guide corrective actions to help prevent food-borne illness. The food safety rules and the local inspection program are designed to help ensure that food establishments are safe places to eat.