Understanding Food Facility Inspections

This website has been developed to provide timely and helpful information so that the consumer can know more about the food service establishments in Mississippi from the perspective of safe food handling practices. Food establishments that serve food for pay must have a Food Service Permit and be regularly inspected by the county health department's county environmentalist. Establishments which are permitted by the Mississippi Department of Health include:

What is a restaurant inspection?

Inspections at food establishments are a "snapshot" of food safety operations on the particular day and time that they are done. Mississippi's food protection regulation is based on the Food and Drug Administration's Food Code which uses a HACCP (hazard analysis critical control point) approach to food inspections. HACCP is a proactive approach which focuses on addressing risks in the facility before they become a problem. We try to work with the facility management to determine what could cause someone to get sick and to make sure procedures are in place to protect people from getting sick. Our Goal is to reduce the risk of food borne illness in Mississippi.

What is an inspection report?

The inspection report is designed to show when an establishment is in compliance with the items that could cause someone to get sick. All items on the inspection report are considered risk factors to food safety, or problems that could make you sick. The Operators can see which items are in compliance, out of compliances, not observed and not applicable. The focus of the inspection is to determine compliance and not to just identify violations.

Violations are typically corrected on the spot. However, some violations require additional time for correction or compliance. If an establishment has violations that are not corrected on the spot, then a plan must be in place to make sure the violations are corrected in a short period of time. The amount of time allowed for the correction depends on the seriousness of the problem. If the violation or problem is not correct in the amount of time allowed, then the facility fails the follow up inspection and is issued an enforcement notice. The enforcement notice requires that the facility close if they do not come into compliance. Some problems are so serious the facility is required to close immediately unless the problem can be corrected on the spot.

How often do we inspect?

A food establishment is inspected from one to four times a year, at a minimum frequency depending on the public health risks associated with the facility's operation. Facilities with minimal food preparation are low risk, while a food establishment which cooks large volumes of food, cools, reheats or processes is considered a high risk. The higher the risk the more often they are inspected. Additional inspections are made if there are complaints, follow ups to insure problems are corrected, trainings and enforcement actions.