Kinds of Food Safety Violations
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Q: Why are food safety violations classified by the Food Code into three categories?
A: Food safety violations are classified based on how likely they are to directly cause or contribute to a foodborne illness outbreak or food-related injury.
Q: What are the three categories of food safety violations?
A: Food safety violations are classified as PRIORITY, PRIORITY FOUNDATION, or CORE.
Q: How are the most serious food safety violations classified?
A: The most serious food safety violations are classified as PRIORITY violations.
Q: What are some examples of PRIORITY violations?
A: Some examples would include:
Failing to properly wash one’s hands
Bare hand contact with READY-TO-EAT FOODS
FOOD being obtained from an unsafe source
Storing POISONOUS OR TOXIC MATERIALS with FOOD
Not cooking raw animal FOODs to a high enough temperature
Not properly separating raw animal FOODs from READY-TO-EAT FOODS
A FOOD EMPLOYEE working when they are sick with vomiting or diarrhea
Not cold holding TIME/TEMPERATURE CONTROL FOR SAFETY FOODS below 41°F
Not hot holding TIME/TEMPERATURE CONTROL FOR SAFETY FOODS above 135°F
Q: How quickly must PRIORITY violations be corrected?
A: PRIORITY violations should be corrected immediately, if possible. When it is not possible to for the PRIORITY violation to be Corrected on Site (COS), it must be corrected within 72 hours after being cited on a health department inspection.
Q: Give some examples of immediate on-site correction of PRIORITY ITEM violations.
A: Some examples would include:
Accelerated cooling of out-of-temperature FOODS when cooling time limits can still be met.
Reheating when small deviations from hot holding have occurred.
Continued cooking when proper cooking temperatures have not yet been met.
Initiating use of gloves, tongs, or utensils to prevent bare hand contact with READY-TO-EAT FOODS (RTE) and voluntarily discarding RTE foods that have been handled with bare hands.
Implementing required handwashing when potential contamination is observed.
Sending a FOOD EMPLOYEE with vomiting or diarrhea home.
Cleaning and/or SANITIZATING contaminated FOOD CONTACT SURFACES.
Destruction of FOODS that have experienced extreme temperature abuse.
Embargo or destruction of FOODS from unapproved sources.
Q: How are PRIORITY FOUNDATION violations different than PRIORITY violations?
A: PRIORITY FOUNDATION violations support, facilitate, or enable one or more PRIORITY violations.
Q: What are some examples of how PRIORITY FOUNDATION violations for improper handwashing can be addressed?
A: Examples would include:
Having a sufficient number of hand sinks available to FOOD EMPLOYEES to wash their hands.
Assuring that handwashing sinks are always accessible and stocked with soap.
The PERSON IN CHARGE (PIC) supports proper handwashing by training FOOD EMPLOYEEs in food safety (including handwashing) and routinely monitoring FOOD EMPLOYEE handwashing.
Q: How quickly must PRIORITY FOUNDATION violations be corrected?
A: PRIORITY FOUNDATION violations should be corrected immediately, if possible, or within 10 days if COS is not possible.
Q: How are CORE violations different from PRIORITY and PRIORITY FOUNDATION violations?
A: CORE violations are good retail practices that usually relate to general sanitation, operational controls, sanitation standard operating procedures (SOPs), facilities or structures, equipment design, or general maintenance.
Q: What are some examples of CORE violations?
A: Examples would include:
Dumpster area is littered
Rear door has a gap at bottom
Toilets in bathrooms are not clean
Dirty floors and walls in the kitchen
Walk-in refrigerator door seals are growing mold
Inadequate lighting in the FOOD preparation area
Ventilation filters and ducts have accumulated grease and dust
Q: How quickly must CORE violations be corrected?
A: CORE violations should be corrected immediately, if possible during the inspection, but prior to the next routine inspection at the latest. Best practices are for CORE violations to be corrected within 30 days, and those requiring remodeling, construction, or equipment purchase be corrected within 90 days after being cited on a health department inspection.
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