How Florida restaurant inspections work
Florida's Department of Business and Professional Regulation inspects every licensed restaurant, food truck, caterer and food cart, usually one to three times a year depending on how complex the food handling is, and again after a complaint. Here's how to read what they find.
Who gets inspected
The state's Division of Hotels and Restaurants licenses and inspects public food service: sit-down restaurants, takeout counters, food trucks, caterers, hot dog carts, vending machines and theme park carts. Grocery stores, convenience stores and markets are inspected by the Florida Department of Agriculture instead, and school cafeterias, hospitals and nursing homes by the Department of Health, so they aren't on this site.
Three levels of violations
- High priority violations could directly contribute to foodborne illness or injury, such as food held at the wrong temperature, raw meat stored above ready-to-eat food, or no soap at the handwashing sink. Inspectors expect them fixed on the spot.
- Intermediate violations could lead to a high-priority problem if left alone, such as a missing thermometer or a food manager without current certification.
- Basic violations are good practices for a clean, well-run kitchen, such as clean floors and walls or covered garbage cans.
Violations are filed under the state's numbered categories (01 to 55). On this site, categories marked risk factor are the practices the FDA links most closely to foodborne illness outbreaks: food from unsafe sources, improper holding temperatures, contaminated equipment, poor hygiene and sick employees.
What the results mean
| Result | What happened |
|---|---|
| No further action | The inspection is complete and no follow-up visit is needed. There may still be minor violations, usually corrected during the visit. |
| Warning issued | The inspector set a deadline to fix violations and will come back to check. |
| Follow-up: fixed | On the return visit, the violations had been corrected. |
| Follow-up: not fixed / complaint recommended | Violations weren't corrected (or were serious enough), and the inspector recommended an administrative complaint, which can lead to fines. |
| Emergency closure | The inspector found an immediate threat, such as an active roach or rodent problem, no hot water or sewage backing up, and the state ordered the business closed until it passes a follow-up inspection. |
| Reopened | After an emergency closure, a follow-up inspection found the problem fixed. |
An inspection is a snapshot
Each report shows conditions on the day of the visit. A kitchen can be in better or worse shape on any other day, and a clean report doesn't guarantee anything about a meal. Look at the pattern: repeated high-priority violations, repeated warnings or more than one emergency closure say more than a single visit.
Complaints
If you think you got sick from a restaurant, see a doctor, and report it to your county health department. You can file a complaint about a restaurant's conditions with the Division of Hotels and Restaurants; inspections that follow a complaint are labeled "complaint" in each restaurant's history.