Food Establishment Inspections

Food establishments that sell or serve food to the public must get a permit and be inspected by the Kitsap County Health District. These establishments include restaurants, espresso stands, delis, grocery stores, school kitchens, temporary events where food is sold and more.

There are about 1,100 permitted food service establishments in Kitsap County and municipalities. Each of these establishments has owners, managers and employees who have passed a test on working with food safely and received a food worker card. The majority of these establishments have three inspections per year.

The purpose of the inspection is to assure that the food is being handled properly from preparation through serving. Inspectors observe kitchen workers’ food handling practices, inspect refrigerators and storage areas, take food temperatures, assure correct use of sanitizers and handwashing practices. Any problem found is written up on an inspection report, and the manager is taught the correct procedure or method immediately.

There are two types of violations recorded on the inspection report

“Red critical violations” are those food practices that, when not done properly, are most likely to lead to food borne illnesses. These food practices include:

• Controlling temperature: such as cooking meats to the right temperature to kill food borne disease germs;
• Keeping food hot enough until it is served;
• Keeping food cold enough;
• Cooling food properly;
• Washing hands and using utensils instead of bare hands on “ready-to-eat” food;
• Proper food storage practices

“Blue violations” are primarily maintenance and sanitation issues that are not likely to be the cause of a food borne illness.

Each violation has a numerical value based on its risk of food borne illness. Therefore, there are more points given for red critical violations than for blue violations. Whenever possible, violations found during the inspection are corrected immediately. Red critical items found during the inspection must be corrected immediately. Examples would be putting a food into the refrigerator or discarding the food. Each inspection report has a total score based on the violation noted at the food establishment. Inspection scores are posted in the Bravo section of the Bremerton Sun and in several other newspapers throughout the county.