In Snohomish County, a health district inspector looks at every aspect of establishments, literally from the ceiling to the floor. Inspectors look for compliance in two categories: critical and non-critical violations.
Critical items have the greatest potential to cause illness or harm to the public, including:
Current food worker training for all workers
Proper hand-washing facilities
Raw meats stored below or away from ready to eat foods
Proper food cooling and hot holding procedures
Use of gloves to prevent bare hand contact with food
Restaurant inspection reports are available online.
Risk Factors
Biggest risk factors observed during an inspection:
Bare hand contact
Cold holding
Cooking
Cooling
Cross-contamination
Fruit and vegetable washing
Hand-washing
Hot holding
Ill food workers
Reheating
Snohomish Health District believes in educating the community and thus works with operators to create a safer food establishment for the public.
