FOOD PREMISES INSPECTIONS
Food premises inspections are routinely carried out routinely and is an integral part of any food borne diseases outbreak investigations and public complaints.
Inspections and evaluation of food premises focus on cleanliness, food quality and safety, food storage, equipment and utensils, food handlers, facilities available at the food premise, waste disposal and waste management, loading area and vector/pest control. At the end of the inspection, a copy of the inspection report (in the form of a checklist) is provided to the manager/supervisor.
A scoring system has been developed to evaluate food premises:
- A score of 70% and over is deemed satisfactory
- A score of 51% to 69% is considered unsatisfactory where the manager/supervisor will be invited to a counseling session and required to carry out rectification measures within a given period of time. The premise will then be re-inspected. If premise fails to attain a score of 70% upon re-inspection, the Licensing Authority will be notified and the premise is recommended for closure.
- A score of 50% and below is deemed very unsatisfactory where the premise will be ordered for immediate closure. The manager/supervisor will be required to attend a counseling session and the premise will be re-inspected after 3 days of closure. The premise will only be allowed to resume business if it found to be satisfactory on re-inspection (attains a score of 70% or more). Otherwise, the premise will continue to be closed for a total of 7 days.
The Food Premises inspection flowchart can be seen here.
