If you’re a restaurant owner or manager, an impromptu health inspection can cause you overwhelming anxiety and you don’t want to let health inspector’s see you panicked. Are you prepared? 

The goal of a restaurant health inspection is to ensure the health and safety of your guests. A health inspector will pay meticulous attention to how you store, thaw and cook your food and that all the storage, kitchen and dining areas are kept clean.

They are looking for potentially hazardous or unsafe materials, such as:

1. Not following food safety temperatures:

   According to Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) safe food temperatures are 5°C or colder, or 60°C or hotter. Potentially hazardous food needs to be kept at these temperatures to prevent food-poisoning bacteria, which may be present in the food, from multiplying to dangerous levels. These bacteria can grow at temperatures between 5°C and 60°C, which is known as the temperature danger zone.

2. Poor personal hygiene and sick staff:

   Send home any staff member that is sick. Your kitchen should have easily accessible and stocked hand washing stations. Hand soap and paper towels to be provided. Additionally, make sure that you have disposable gloves and hair nets on hand.

3. Poor kitchen sanitation & handling practices:

   This is one of the most common health code violations. When cleaning, instruct employees to clean and sanitise all of your equipment and work spaces thoroughly, till spotless. Restaurant owners are required to follow Australian Standards 3.2.2 for safe handling of food.

4. Cross contamination:

   Cross contamination can lead to food illnesses and it's a very serious health code violation. Using colour-coded cutting boards, enacting strict cleaning procedures, and using disposable gloves can all help you avoid violations. Also prevent cross-contamination by storing food items properly. Local health codes and laws may change over time. Be sure you and your staff are up to date.  

5. Infestations:

   Mice and cockroaches are nocturnal, so you might not see them but here are a few signs that might suggest you have an infestation: 

• Mice: droppings (3-8mm in size); grease smudges along walls or skirting boards; mounds of dirt; scratching noises in walls or ceilings; signs of nesting (such as shredded newspapers or fabric), and an ammonia-like odour.
• Cockroaches: tiny black droppings (about 1mm), smear marks, shed skin, damage to food items, and a musty smell.

If you do catch sight of the occasional mouse or cockroach, it may be a sign of a larger infestation. To remedy this, it’s best to call in a professional pest controller to fix the problem quickly and humanely rather than try to do it yourself, this will be less effective and take a lot longer. To prevent reoccurrence make sure premises are kept clean and no food is left out. 

How we can help?

While you’re doing what you’re passionate about, we can do the rest. We help many Perth based restaurants, cafes and bars with everything from hygiene services, managed first aid kits to laundry services such as linen/uniform rental,  pest control and even commercial cleaning. So, you can do what you do best and open your doors with confidence every day.

We go beyond great customer service; we balance innovative solutions and time-tested approaches to always achieve the absolute best outcome for our food & beverage customers and clients, every day.

If you run a restaurant or function centre, we will ensure that you will provide welcoming, clean and compliant facilities that won’t just keep the health and safety inspectors happy – it will also make the right impression on your visitors and help to maintain customers and member loyalty.