Browse all questions

Sponges may not be used in contact with cleaned and sanitized or in-use food-contact surfaces, because the porous structure holds food soil and moisture and cannot be reliably cleaned. Wiping cloths held in a sanitizer solution are the approved tool for that job.

Light bulbs must be shielded, coated, or otherwise shatter-resistant in areas with exposed food, clean equipment, utensils and linens, or unwrapped single-service articles, so a broken tube cannot rain glass into the food. Height and bulb type do not remove the hazard.

At least 50 foot candles are required at a surface where a food employee is working with food or with utensils and equipment such as knives, slicers, grinders, or saws, where employee safety is a factor. Twenty foot candles covers self-service surfaces, handwashing, warewashing, and toilet rooms, and 10 foot candles covers walk-ins and dry storage.

Receptacles and waste handling units kept outside the establishment must be covered with tight-fitting lids or doors, and indoor receptacles are covered when they hold food residue and are not in continuous use or once they are filled. An open dumpster is a feeding station for rodents, flies, and birds.

Service animals controlled by the disabled employee or person are allowed in areas that are not used for food preparation and are usually open to customers, such as dining and sales areas, if no health or safety hazard results. Live animals are otherwise prohibited on the premises, with narrow exceptions such as patrol dogs, aquarium fish, and shellfish display tanks.

No person may create a cross connection by joining the drinking water system to a non-drinking water system or a water system of unknown quality, and non-drinking water piping must be durably identified so it is readily distinguishable. Pressure and hardness are operating problems; a cross connection is a contamination pathway into every tap in the building.

At least one service sink or curbed cleaning facility with a floor drain must be provided for cleaning mops and disposing of mop water, and the Food Code specifically bars using toilets and urinals for that purpose. A prep sink is a food-contact fixture and a floor drain has no splash protection.

The premises must be kept free of pests by routinely inspecting incoming shipments of food and supplies, routinely inspecting the premises for evidence of pests, using approved methods such as trapping devices if pests are found, and eliminating harborage conditions. Routine chemical application on a schedule is neither required nor the first line of defense.