I wonder if you remember that movie from a few years back called “Larry The Cable Guy: Health Inspector”? In the movie Larry is a big city restaurant health inspector with questionable practices and his own way of doing things. Local public health departments regularly inspect businesses serving food to ensure restaurants and other food retail outlets are following safe food handling procedures. It all happens just like it does in that movie. OK. Maybe not exactly like that. Still, at the bakery I work at we do get the random health inspection by a local restaurant health inspector. Local laws regulate how frequently a health inspection will take place, and what specific items the inspectors look for but, in general, environmental health inspectors check that safeguards are in place to protect food from contamination by food handlers, cross-contamination, and contamination from other sources in the restaurant.
Some examples of things they look for during the health inspection includes ensuring I regularly wash my hands in a sink equipped with soap, hot water and paper towels, although they do not make me sing the Happy Birthday Song twice, which is about how long you should wash your hands. They do, however, make sure utensils and surfaces that contact raw meat are not used to prepare ready-to-eat foods and that rodents and other pests are not present. You know, that sort of stuff that you would like to think all restaurants and places you buy or eat your food at are complying with.
I mean when you eat something this delicious you want to know it was prepared in a clean and healthy environment right?
So the restaurant health inspectors perform their health inspection and reports at restaurants (or bakery or cafe or 7-11 or whatever) to make sure that the food storage and preparation meets safety and sanitation regulations. In addition to their visual inspections, the restaurant health inspectors may take samples of foods, ingredients, and on surfaces to make sure that all meet or exceed the health guidelines established for the food service industry. (Note that I said “take samples”. Please note: Do not offer them samples. That is frowned upon and may be considered a bribe. Don’t ask me how I know this. LOL)
The reports generated by the restaurant health inspection can be ordered from your local health department, or many local health departments are now making the reports of these inspectors available online so consumers can make their own educated choices on where to eat. They also make us put these types of placards up in the establishment so you can see the establishment’s score without having to go online. Many places put them in the front window but they must be placed somewhere they can be easily seen by all.
The inspectors come in at random times without warning. This is a great way to do it. Unlike in the Army when they would tell us a day in advance the Base Commander was coming around. This way the health inspector can see what is really going on.
A few months ago our health inspector popped round. It was the first time this particular health inspector had visited us as she was newly assigned to the area. She wandered around doing her thing, looking in every corner and behind every work station. She whipped out her thermometer to check temperatures. She even tried the classic health inspector move on me. She asked to see my food handler safety card which we all have to have on our person when we are in the kitchen. I keep mine in my wallet so I had to stop working and show her my card. Since I have a manager level of training and carry that advanced designation on my card I knew what she was waiting for. After I put the card away and before I return to handling the super tasty desserts we make, I must wash my hands properly. Failure to do so results in some embarrassing demerits. She probably knew I know that and I could feel my chef smiling as I passed the test.
We got a perfect score on our health inspection and all I got was this lousy tshirt.
The health inspector wandered around some more looking for things she could bust us on ways to help us improve. She found nothing. Zero. Ziltch. We got a perfect score!
Like I said they come by at random times and as we did not expect to see her again so soon, it was surprising to see her again just the other day. Still there she was suddenly appearing at the counter with her badge and clip board and thermometer
Getting an ‘A’ on our restaurant health inspection and knowing we are serving tasty and healthy treats and food at the bakery always makes me, and the owners, smile.
Greg Forrest – Co-Owner of Layers Bakery and Cafe in Las Vegas
Do you work in a food service establishment? Have you ever seen a health inspection take place? Are you a health inspector? Click here to leave a comment and share your opinion and experience. Would love to hear from you.
“Taking cues from modern art’s most revered artists, these twenty-seven showstopping desserts exhibit the charm and sophistication of works by Andy Warhol, Cindy Sherman, Henri Matisse, Jeff Koons, Roy Lichtenstein, Richard Avedon, Wayne Thiebaud, and more. Featuring an image of the original artwork alongside a museum curator’s perspective on the original piece and detailed, easy-to-follow directions (with step-by-step assembly guides adapted for home bakers), Modern Art Desserts will inspire a kitchen gallery of stunning treats.”
Well, any food related business should have an A, other wise, we cannot assure that the food we eat in that business is safe. Great post here :).
Edward Gate recently posted…AEOI: tax reporting doesn’t have to be taxing
Right? Yes, you certainly want to go to a place with an ‘A’ rating. Anything else would be scary. Although…
I lived in the Middle East for 3 years and some of the things I saw there would terrify the average American. Yet I never got sick from my foods.
Troy recently posted…Breasts are my kryptonite
Yeah, a food that is below A doesn’t mean that it is not anymore safe, well, as long as it is delicious and yummy, then grab and eat! LOL.
Edward Gate recently posted…AEOI: tax reporting doesn’t have to be taxing
Hey Troy, you mention that health inspections occur at random. I know that is supposed to be the case in my local areas and when I owned a Deli we had a few of those random inspections. I do know though that when I was a milky delivering to major supermarkets they actually got a couple of weeks warning of impending inspections. Highly unfair I thought as that gave them time to fix issues. Whats the point of that?
I also remember once when delivering to a bakery that I caught one of the workers cutting her toenails on the lovely clean stainless steel bench. Never bought a thing there since then. That’s something that health inspectors will never pick up on.
Peter recently posted…Best Time To Bet On A Sports Bet
What you where a milky? So was my grand pappy. 🙂
Yes, inspections should be unannounced for sure.
Thanks for stopping by Peter. Always welcome here
Troy S. recently posted…Interesting stuff people buy on Amazon part 5
Yep, for 25 years. Now I work in a supermarket, and guess what, they’ve got me filling milk 😀
Peter recently posted…Ani Friesinger Hot Sports Babe #24 Speed Skater
You know what I find odd? Here, a gallon of milk is only $.10 more than a half gallon.
(1 Gallons (US) = 3.78541178 Liters)
Troy S. recently posted…#848 The Rabbit wine opener leaves me jumping for joy!
I think we need to have more restaurants in grade A. Otherwise it wont be good to have food from outside 🙂
So true. If people are allowed to run a restaurant or cafe or such with poor food safety procedures and people get sick, that is def. not a good thing.
Thanks for stopping by and for your comments. See you again soon I hope.
Troy S. recently posted…Celebrities get to do cool stuff
I have to admit that I look at the news alerts on Fridays to see which restaurants didn’t do well on their last inspections. The scariest thing is that often it’s a major chain that’s messed something up; that’s a real eye opener because you like to think those folks have their act together.
Course, I’m still waiting for someone to tell me what that slimy beef is in some Chinese food. I’ve stopped allowing that mess in my food and will ask for extra pork instead.
Mitch Mitchell recently posted…What’s Missing In Your Videos?
If you ever come to Las Vegas Mitch, Brenna and I will have to take you to dim sum for a meal. I have no idea what they are serving. Brenna is Chinese so she makes sure I am safe. Still, she eats the chicken feet so I dunno…
Troy S. recently posted…Basics to Build a Pond in Your Yard or Home
Let’s see if that happens again, since I’ve been to Vegas 3 times now, Reno twice. 🙂
Mitch Mitchell recently posted…What’s Missing In Your Videos?
very interesting, cool
Thank you for visiting and for leaving your comment. Hope to see you back here soon!
Troy S. recently posted…Tiramisu – What is it?
Nice post. Informative and effective.
RMSI recently posted…How Kitchen Display Systems can improve your Restaurant Service Quality?
Thank you for visiting and for leaving a comment. Hope to see you back here soon!
Troy S. recently posted…Baking Powder vs Baking Soda
100 smiles that is great name for website
Sandeep Lokhande recently posted…Happy Easter Bible Quotes for Whatsapp | Facebook
Thanks. I like the URL also. Thank you for visiting and for leaving your comment. Hope to see you back here soon!
Troy S. recently posted…Freeze tiramisu? I guess…
We always thought about the spicy or junk food and try to eat healthy food but never think that it is the most important matter before eating a food, is it made in a clean and safe environment? Cool, Idea !! And for this, we need to have more restaurant in A Grade, of course.
Showhan recently posted…$200 – $500 Coffee Grinder Reviews
Yeah for sure. No mater how good a meal is, if you are in pain with food poisening when you get home, that is not worth it.
Thank you for leaving your comment. Hope to see you back here soon!
Troy S. recently posted…Dessert is a meal course
Danke für den Tipp!
NDTMED recently posted…Aktionsangebot für Tierärztliche Gemischtpraxis, digitales flexibles Röntgen
Bitte sehr. It is my pleasure to offer the post to you.
Troy S. recently posted…History of Tiramisu
Awesome article….Larry The Cable Guy: Health Inspector was my favourite movie 🙂
Iva lourdes recently posted…Top 10 World’s Best Cuisines
Yes, that was a good one. We liked it here too.
Troy S. recently posted…Tiramisu – What is it?
Interesting. We recently opened up a little coffee shop at the Vegas Fantastic swap meet and we got our first inspection the first week of course.
We just got our second inspect 4 months in. We don’t serve food and have a rating, but it’s something we want to do later this year.
Katrina Lima recently posted…The Right Polo Shirts For Embroidery
Oh very cool. I will have to come by and visit some time. I like that place.
Congratulations and much success to you and your new shop!
Troy S. recently posted…Coffee – Not Just a Drink
Very Informative article, Workplace inspections also help prevent injuries and illnesses. Through critical examination of the workplace, inspections identify and record hazards for corrective action. Joint occupational health and safety committees can help plan, conduct, report and monitor inspections. Regular workplace inspections are an important part of the overall occupational health and safety program.
Thank you for this piece……
Safety first last and always….
Thanks for visiting and for your comments. Much appreciated.
Troy S. recently posted…#849 Glass block construction makes pretty solid smiles
Working on making ours get the best quality
What kind of shop do you have? Just remember to clean as you go. Everytime there is down time, just clean something.
Good luck in your business and your Grade A
Troy S. recently posted…#850 Conga drums get my rhythm going
Nice…. Very Informative article, Workplace inspections also help prevent injuries and illnesses. Through critical examination of the workplace, inspections identify and record hazards for corrective action. Joint occupational health and safety committees can help plan, conduct, report and monitor inspections. Regular workplace inspections are an important part of the overall occupational health and safety program.
Thank you for this piece……
Yep, and injuries are a bummer. My chef always says, “No one gets hurt today. If you do get hurt you can not go home early anyway so just don’t get hurt.”
Makes me laugh every time.
Troy S. recently posted…20 items you should own for under 20 bucks each!
nice post very informative!!! keep on writting!!!
swetha recently posted…Having a refreshing lime mint cooler drink to …
Thank you.
Troy recently posted…#842 A merry-go-round creates smiles all around
I wanted to thank you for this great read. I definitely enjoying every little bit of it I have you bookmarked to check out new stuff you post.
Super. Thanks for stopping by and for your comment.
Troy recently posted…#829 A Knight’s Tale is a movie that stands the test of time
Pingback: #824 The candy cane is one of the best parts of Christmas - 1K Smiles
I have read your article; it is very informative and helpful for me. I admire the valuable information you offer
in your articles. Thanks for posting it.
Karan Nayak recently posted…ONLINE SHOPPING APP
I think this is an informative post and it is very useful and knowledgeable. therefore, I would like to thank you for the efforts you have made in writing this article.
Glad to help. Please do visit often and also tell your friends about us. That would make us smile.
Troy recently posted…#816 Hotel toiletries make for good, clean fun.
Ohhh!!!!
Great Troy. I am very glad to see you again:)
You are such a great blogger and I am your regular visitor.
Thank you Sally!
Please bring some friends with you next time. 🙂
Troy recently posted…#812 Old book smell
Hi Troy,
I am happy to read your post again .I already finished you 10 post .
I can see this is biggest post for health .You have explain a movie .
I have seen this movie that’s party cool.I love read health related article.
Now we are providing paleo diet tips.If you don;t know what is paleo dite
you can check here what is a paleo diet and again
thanks for posting this helpful article.I will wait for your next post about Kid health.
Regards,
Jhon Barg
Hi Troy,
I am happy to read your post again .I already finished you 10 post .
I can see this is biggest post for health .You have explain a movie .
I have seen this movie that’s party cool.I love read health related article.
Now we are providing paleo diet tips.If you don,t know what is paleo dite
you can check here what is a what is a paleo diet and again
thanks for posting this helpful article.I will wait for your next post about Kid health.
Please remove my first comment .
Regards,
Jhon Barg
Jhon Barg recently posted…What Is A Paleo Diet & Is It Right For You?
Hi Troy,
I am happy to read your post again .I already finished you 10 post .
I can see this is biggest post for health .You have explain a movie .
I have seen this movie that’s party cool.I love read health related article.
Now we are providing paleo diet tips.If you don,t know what is paleo dite
you can check here what is a what is a paleo diet and again
thanks for posting this helpful article.I will wait for your next post about Kid health.
Please remove my first 2 comment .It;s my mistake to anchor.Plese don,t
mind .
Regards,
Jhon Barg
Jhon Barg recently posted…What Is A Paleo Diet & Is It Right For You?
Wow, what a great article it is! This is really healthy information . Your posts are so interesting and providing me great information.This is really effective for us. Thanks for the shearing.
restaurant health is always important for restaurant owner…
nice article
I didn’t know that inspectors can come without warning. In this case, it might be nice to have a consultant to make sure your restaurant is consistently up to par. Then you wouldn’t have to worry too much about surprise inspections.