Failed To Comply

6/01/23

The dreaded public notice that lets your customers know you failed your health department inspection...

During a recent inspection, the owner of the facility I was inspecting told me about seeing a ‘Failed To Comply’ sticker in the window of a restaurant he goes to a lot. He said the restaurant looks clean and the food is good, so what would cause them to ‘Fail to Comply’. Failing to comply means that you have earned a score below 70 points and failed your inspection.

Your Inspection Score

You start with 100 points. Points are deducted if violations to the Oregon Food Sanitation Rules are discovered. If you go below 70 points you have ‘Failed to Comply’.

Point Values:

1. Priority Violation - are those items that most directly eliminate or reduce a hazard associated with foodborne illness. Examples include improper hot and cold holding, allowing sick employees to work or improper separation of raw proteins. Five-point deduction.

2. Priority Foundation Violation - are those items that help keep Priority Violations in compliance and support. Examples include handwashing sink missing paper towels or soap, no thermometer on hand or no sanitation test strips on hand. Three-point deduction.

3. Core Violations - usually include general sanitation, general operational procedures or general maintenance and cleanliness. Examples include dirty walls and floors, improper sanitation strength for wiping cloths and poor lighting. Zero-point deduction.

If you have the same violation at two consecutive semi-annual inspections the points are doubled. This is how some scores can plummet quickly. Examples of priority repeats include storing products in cold holding units not holding 41F or less or improper separation of raw proteins. These repeat violations would double to 10 points each.

Failing To Comply

At your inspection, you earned a score of 70 or lower. This sets off a chain of events in order for you to return to good standing.

The ‘Failed To Comply’ sticker is posted at the entrance of the facility, replacing the ‘Complied’ sticker.

At the failing inspection, you are required to temporarily correct all priority and priority foundation violations immediately. Examples include using a three-compartment sink to wash, rinse and sanitize dishes until your dishwashing machine is repaired, or discarding any products that have exceeded the 7-day shelf life.

In 14 days, your inspector will conduct a re-inspection on the cited P and PF violations. If you have not resolved all violations you are subject to closure.

At the 30 day mark (or sooner if you are ready), your inspector will conduct another full inspection on the entire facility and the new score will be documented. If you score 70 or higher at this inspection, your ‘Failed To Comply’ sticker is replaced with a ‘Complied’ sticker.