FAQs
What Is the Alameda County (Alco) Food Safety Program Inspection Program?
The California Retail Food Code (CalCode) authorizes a local Environmental Health Department (EHD) to establish a food safety program charged with the issuance of a permit-to-operate once a proposed food establishment and its operations meet the requirements of CalCode. To ensure a safe level of food preparation and food handling practices are maintained, inspections of food facilities are conducted on a routine basis.
What Types Of Food Facilities Are Permitted And Inspected?
All retail fixed and mobile food facilities are permitted and inspected, including but not limited to restaurants, markets, school cafeterias, skilled nursing facilities, in-plant feeding operations, commissaries, commercial kitchens, bakeries, mobile food trucks, food carts, detention facilities, and food banks distribution centers. ACEHD also permits and inspects temporary food booths at special events, farmers markets, street fairs, county fairs, temporary food service operations, etc.
How Can I Obtain The Results And The Score Of A Food Facility Inspection?
The California Retail Food Code requires a local EHD to provide the results of inspections to the public in a timely, standardized manner. The ACEHD posts the results of routine and re-score inspections to the Alameda County Health, Environmental Health Department Online Inspection Results. The ACEHD Grading System Ordinance and Penalty Schedule forms the basis for scoring food facilities inspections and enforcement for compliance.
What Is The Scoring System For Food Facilities?
CalCode allows a local EHD to adopt an evaluation or grading system for food facilities. The provisions of the ALCO EHD Grading System are developed in its Grading System Policy. The grading system policy standardizes the approach inspectors use to determine violations during inspections and the methodology used for attaching point values to each violation of the Food Facility Grading Policy. The ALCO EHD Official Inspection Report (OIR) form is organized in two halves, the left-side are Major CDC Risk Factor Violations (violations are 2 to 4 points in value each) and the right-side are Minor Retail Practices Risk Factor Violations (each violation is 1 point in value).
What Are Major CDC Risk Factors?
The six CDC major risk factors identified in the California Retail Food Code are:
- Improper holding food temperatures
- Improper cooling of potentially hazardous foods
- Inadequate cooking temperatures of potentially hazardous foods
- Poor personal hygiene of food employees
- Food from unapproved sources
- Contaminated equipment
How Are The Inspection Scores Made Available To The Public?
After routine and re-score inspections, the inspection results are uploaded to the ACEHD website. To access inspection results for a food facility, a search can be conducted by facility name or address. Noted violation descriptions are color-coded RED for major and BLUE for minor. The overall score of an inspection is reflected on the website by the issuance of a color-coded placard for the facility. The placard provides the dining public, at a glance, the current food safety status of the facility after the most recent inspection. A GREEN placard indicated on the website and posted in public view at the food facility reflects a PASS score. A YELLOW placard indicates a CONDITIONAL PASS score, and a RED placard indicates the facility failed the inspection and is CLOSED. Any Imminent Health Hazard noted is grounds for immediate facility closure.
What Is An Imminent Health Hazard?
Imminent health hazards are conditions and/or violations that could lead to adverse effects to public health or the environment and require immediate suspension of the permit-to-operate and closure of the food facility. ACEHD encourages operators to self-report these types of hazards to reduce the necessity for escalating enforcement. The facility is to remain closed until re-opened by ACEHD inspection. An Imminent Health Hazards carries a 26-point violation value and includes but is not limited to:
- Electrical power outage
- Lack of refrigeration
- Lack of potable water
- Lack of hot water
- Sewage backup or overflow within a facility
- Fire
- Vermin infestation (insects or rodents)
- Food worker with a communicable disease
- Any other condition that requires immediate correction or closure to protect public health