Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 511-6-1-.10 - Inspections and Compliance Procedures
(1)
Suspension or Revocation of Permits. The Health Authority shall
have the power to suspend or revoke a permit if the permit holder is unwilling
or unable to comply with these regulations, the regulations of the local Health
Authority, the provisions of O.C.G.A. Section
26-2-370 et seq., or if a
violation is not corrected within a reasonable time. The notice of suspension
or revocation shall be in writing and shall state the reasons in support of the
action. The notice shall be delivered to the permit holder by mail or in person
or, if the permit holder cannot be located, by tacking a copy to the front door
of the food service establishment and mailing a copy to the permit holder's
last known address.
(a) There shall be a
rebuttable presumption that a permit holder is unwilling or unable to comply if
he or she refuses to allow the Health Authority to enter upon and inspect the
premises of the food service establishment at any reasonable time and in a
reasonable manner, or if any particular violation is found to be uncorrected
upon the third consecutive inspection.
(b) Except as specified in DPH Rule
511-6-1-.03(2)(n),
a permit may be summarily suspended upon the discovery of an imminent health
hazard. The permit holder may seek immediate review of a summary suspension by
written request to the District Health Director. The matter shall be heard by
the District Health Director, or a supervisory level employee designated by the
District Health Director who was not personally involved in the inspection,
acting as a review official. The Health Authority shall make every effort to
arrange a hearing within 72 hours of the request. The hearing shall be
conducted informally and without application of the rules of evidence. Both the
inspector and the permit holder shall be given an opportunity to present any
arguments or evidence in support of their positions. The review official may
uphold the summary suspension or may modify or lift the suspension on such
conditions as may be appropriate.
(c) In lieu of suspension or revocation of a
permit, the Health Authority may in its discretion allow a food service
establishment to voluntarily close all or part of the premises until such time
as violations are corrected, and upon such additional restrictions as the
Health Authority may deem appropriate.
(d) The permit holder may appeal any
suspension or revocation to the Department in accordance with O.C.G.A. Section
31-5-3 by sending written notice
within ten days, by certified mail or statutory overnight delivery, addressed
to the Department of Public Health, Office of General Counsel, with a copy to
the Health Authority official that suspended or revoked the permit. Within ten
days of receiving the notice, the Health Authority shall provide the Department
with a copy of its entire file on the inspections and actions that led to the
suspension or revocation. The Department shall schedule a hearing within 20
days of receiving the notice, and shall decide the matter upon the arguments of
the parties and the administrative record.
(e) If operations of a food service
establishment are discontinued due to the order or action of the Health
Authority, the permit holder shall obtain approval from the Health Authority
before resuming operations.
(f) The
Health Authority may, in its discretion, allow the owner to voluntarily close
all or part of the food service establishment in lieu of suspending or revoking
a permit. Such action will not prohibit the Health Authority from taking such
further action as it may deem necessary to protect employees or members of the
public.
(g) If at any time a mobile
food service establishment's permit is no longer in good standing in any
jurisdiction, a county may revoke the establishment's authorization to operate
in its jurisdiction.
(2)
Inspections.
(a)
Risk
Categorization. Inspections of a food service establishment shall be
conducted based on risk categorization. The risk type shall be determined by
the menu items served, the food preparation processes performed, and the
previous food safety history in the food service establishment. Each
establishment shall be grouped in one of the following categories:
1. Risk Type I. Frequency of inspection will
be one time per year for establishments that do not cook any foods. This
includes establishments that may reheat commercially precooked ingredients or
foods such as hotdogs and sausages;
2. Risk Type II. Frequency of inspection will
be two times per year for establishments that cook and/or hold and reheat foods
that are prepared onsite; or
3.
Risk Type III. Frequency of inspection will be three times per year for
establishments that have a required HACCP plan that is deemed in conformance
with DPH Rule
511-6-1-.02(8). One
of these inspections will be a scheduled inspection to meet with the Certified
Food Safety Manager.
(b)
Inspection Frequency.
1. The
Health Authority shall conduct one or more construction inspections for newly
constructed or extensively remodeled establishments to verify that the food
service establishment is constructed and equipped in accordance with the
approved plans and specifications and is in compliance with law and this
Chapter. In addition, the Health Authority may conduct one or more
preoperational inspections to verify compliance with the construction and
equipment requirements of this Chapter at the time of a change in the permit
holder of an existing food service establishment.
2. An initial inspection will be conducted in
an establishment prior to the food permit being issued.
3. To allow the permit holder of the food
service establishment sufficient time to fully train employees as specified in
of DPH Rule
511-6-1-.03(3)(d)1.
and 2., the first routine inspection will be conducted within sixty days after
the opening of the establishment; and it will mark the beginning of the
establishment's compliance history with this Chapter.
4. After the first routine inspection,
establishments maintaining an "A" food safety grade shall be inspected based on
the risk categorization specified in subsection (2)(a)1. through 3. of this
Rule.
5. Establishments that
receive a "C" or "U" food safety grade will have at least one additional
routine inspection added in a twelve-month period and may have more inspections
at the discretion of the Health Authority.
6. If an establishment maintains an "A" food
safety rating on three consecutive routine inspections, then the Health
Authority may, in its discretion, reduce the frequency of routine inspections
to one time per year for Risk Type II establishments and to two times per year
for Risk Type III establishments.
7. The reduced inspection frequency may
continue until the food service establishment incurs a grade of a "B", "C" or
"U". The routine inspection frequency will then resume to the number specified
for Risk Type but may be more frequent as deemed necessary for the enforcement
of this Chapter by the Health Authority.
(c)
Follow-up Inspections.
Follow-up inspections may be conducted at any time at the discretion of the
Health Authority but must be conducted within ten days after an establishment
receives a grade "U".
(d)
Access.
1. Representatives of the
Health Authority, after proper identification, shall be permitted to enter any
food service establishment or operation at any reasonable time for the purpose
of making inspections and review of pertinent records to determine compliance
with this Chapter. Should access be denied, an inspection warrant may be
obtained as authorized in O.C.G.A. § 31-5, Article 2.
2. If a person denies access to the Health
Authority, the Health Authority shall:
(i)
Inform the person that:
(I) The permit holder
is required to allow access to the Health Authority,
(II) Access is a condition of the acceptance
and retention of a food service establishment permit to operate, and
(III) If access is denied, an inspection
warrant, issued by the appropriate authority to order access, may be obtained
according to law; and
(ii) Make a final request for
access.
(e)
Inspection of Mobile Food Service Units. The local Health
Authority in the county of origin and the local Health Authority in additional
counties in which the mobile food service unit operates shall exchange
information regarding their inspection of mobile food service establishments.
When inspecting a mobile food service unit in a county other than the county of
origin, the local Health Authority shall consult the DPH permit and inspection
database to find out the violations received during the last inspection of the
base of operation. These violations will be noted as violations during the
inspection of each mobile food service unit.
(f)
Inspection of Mobile Food Service
Units outside of the county of origin.
1. The mobile food service establishment may
be subject to periodic and unannounced inspections in any outside county where
its permit has been recognized. County boards of health shall utilize
discretion when inspecting mobile food service establishments that have been
authorized to operate in multiple jurisdictions to ensure they are not
inspected more frequently than necessary to protect public health and safety. A
mobile food service establishment shall allow the county board of health access
for inspection when the mobile food service establishment is physically
operating in such county.
2. Fees
for inspections conducted in outside counties shall be paid in full by the next
business day. Failure to pay for inspections in outside counties will result in
termination of authorization to operate in that county. The inspection fee
shall be limited to the administrative costs incurred by the county to complete
the inspection.
3. If any such
inspection results in a violation, any outside county shall notify the county
of origin and any other counties where the mobile food service establishment is
authorized to operate of the violation. Any county where the mobile food
service establishment operates may issue a court citation, terminate
authorization for the mobile food service establishment to operate in the
county, or require implementation of a remediation plan for the
violation.
4. A mobile food service
establishment shall stay current with its annual inspection fees in its county
of origin and shall provide any outside counties where it is authorized to
operate proof of currency before operating in that county.
(g)
Report of Inspection.
1. The Health Authority shall document on the
Department's current approved "Food Service Establishment Inspection Report"
form and "Food Service Inspection Report Addendum" form(s):
(i) Administrative information about the food
service establishment's legal owner, street and mailing addresses, type of
establishment and operation, inspection date, and other information which may
include such information as type of water supply and sewage disposal, status of
the permit, and personnel certificates that may be required;
(ii) Specific factual observations of
violations or other deviations from this Chapter that require correction by the
permit holder including:
(I) Failure of the
person in charge to demonstrate the knowledge of foodborne illness prevention,
application of HACCP principles, and the requirements of this Chapter as
specified under DPH Rule
511-6-1-.03(1)(a) through
(c),
(II) Failure of food employees, conditional
employees, and the person in charge to report a disease or medical condition as
specified under DPH Rule
511-6-1-.03(4)(b),
(III) Nonconformance with Priority items and
priority foundation items of this Chapter,
(IV) Failure of the appropriate food
employees to comply with or demonstrate their knowledge of the procedural,
monitoring, verification, and corrective action practices required by the
Health Authority for a variance or HACCP Plan,
(V) Failure of the person in charge to
provide records required by the Health Authority for determining conformance
with a HACCP plan as specified under DPH Rule
511-6-1-.02(8),
(VI) Nonconformance with critical limits of a
HACCP plan; and
(iii) The
numerical score and equivalent grade, based on debiting the appropriate points
for violations and repeat violations of code provisions found or observed
during the inspection.
2.
Upon the completion of the inspection, the evaluating official shall have the
person in charge sign the inspection report form. The person in charge's
signature shall not necessarily indicate agreement with the findings noted on
the inspection.
(h)
Violation Categories.
1.
Violations of this Chapter are categorized according to their potential for
creating a health risk to the consumer. All violations shall be recorded on the
current inspection report and addendum(s). Violations are divided into two
categories, Risk Factors/Public Health Interventions (RF/PHI) Categories and
Good Retail Practices (GRP) Categories. In addition and for purposes of
prioritization of corrective action, items in these categories are designated
as priority items, priority foundation items, or core items as defined in DPH
Rule 511-6-1-.01.
2. Violation of Risk Factors/Public Health
Interventions (RF/PHI) categories are prominent on the inspection report
because they are vital to preventing foodborne illness. These items are
numbered 1 to 9 on the inspection report and divided into Subcategory "1" and
"2" as follows:
(i) Subcategory "1" items
cover provisions of the code, that when applied would directly prevent,
eliminate or reduce hazards to a safe level to protect consumer health. Because
the probability of occurrence and severity of a hazard is greater when these
provisions are out of compliance, the incidence and impact of foodborne illness
is increased and therefore a point value is assigned for a violation of any
subcategory "1" item of nine points, and
(ii) Subcategory "2" items cover provisions
of the code, that when applied, would indirectly prevent, eliminate or reduce
hazards to a safe level to protect consumer health. Because the probability of
occurrence and severity of a hazard is lower than subcategory "1" when these
provisions are out of compliance, the incidence and impact of foodborne illness
is not as great and therefore a point value is assigned for a violation of any
subcategory "2" item of four points.
3. Risk Factors and Public Health
Interventions (RF/PHI) Categories include:
(i)
Supervision.
(ii) Employee health,
good hygienic practices, preventing contamination by hands.
(iii) Approved source.
(iv) Protection from contamination.
(v) Cooking of time/temperature control for
safety foods, consumer advisory.
(vi) Holding and date-marking of
time/temperature control for safety foods.
(vii) Highly susceptible
populations.
(viii)
Chemicals.
(ix) Conformance with
approved procedures.
4.
Good Retail Practices (GRP) categories are deemed to be mostly operational and
maintenance violations that, if not corrected, increase the potential for
causing food borne illness. They are usually designated as core items; however,
some may be designated as priority foundation items as defined within DPH Rule
511-6-1-.01. A violation of an item
in a GRP category constitutes a one-to-three-point deduction from the overall
score (maximum 100 points) as shown on the current food services establishment
inspection report form.
5. Good
Retail Practices Categories (GRP) include:
(i)
Safe food and water, food identification.
(ii) Food temperature control.
(iii) Pest and animal control.
(iv) Prevention of food
contamination.
(v) Proper use of
utensils.
(vi) Utensils, equipment,
and vending.
(vii) Water, plumbing
and waste.
(viii) Physical
facilities.
(ix) Other.
(i)
Timely
Correction of Violations of Priority Item or Priority Foundation Item and HACCP
Plans.
1. Except as specified in
paragraph 2. of this subsection, a person in charge shall at the time of
inspection correct a violation of a priority item or a priority foundation item
of this Chapter and implement corrective actions for a HACCP plan provision
that is not in compliance with its critical
limit.PF
2. Based on the nature of the potential
hazard involved and the complexity of the corrective action needed, the Health
Authority may agree to or specify a longer time frame, not to exceed:
(i) 72 hours after the inspection, for the
permit holder to correct violations of a priority item; or
(ii) 10 calendar days after the inspection,
for the permit holder to correct violations of a priority foundation item or
HACCP Plan deviations.
3.
Failure to correct these violations to the satisfaction of the Health Authority
may result in such emergency action as deemed necessary by the Health Authority
including legal actions pursuant to O.C.G.A. §
31-5-9(a).
(j)
Time Frame for
Correction of Core Item Violations.
1.
Except as specified in paragraph 2. of this subsection, the permit holder shall
correct core items within 72 hours of the food service establishment's receipt
of the inspection report or as otherwise directed by the Health Authority.
Failure to make timely corrections to the satisfaction of the Health Authority
of core items may subject the food service establishment to suspension or
revocation of its permit pursuant to DPH Rule
511-6-1-.10(1).
2. The Health Authority may approve a
compliance schedule that extends beyond the time limits specified under
paragraph 1. of this subsection if a written schedule of compliance is
submitted by the permit holder and no health hazard exists or will result from
allowing an extended schedule for compliance.
(k)
Verification and Documentation of
Correction.
1. After observing at the
time of inspection a correction of a violation of a priority item or priority
foundation item or HACCP plan deviation, the Health Authority shall enter the
violation and information about the corrective action on the inspection
report.
2. As specified under
subsection (2)(h)2. of this Rule, after receiving notification that the permit
holder has corrected a violation of a priority item or priority foundation item
or HACCP plan deviation, or at the end of the specified period of time, the
Health Authority shall verify correction of the violation, document the
information on an inspection report or addendum, and enter the report in the
Health Authority's records.
(l)
Grading Inspections.
Inspections will receive a letter grade based on the numerical score as
follows:
1. "A". The letter grade "A" means
food safety excellence and is applied to a score of 90 to 100.
2. "B". The letter grade "B" means
satisfactory compliance and is applied to a score of 80 to 89.
3. "C". The letter grade "C" means marginal
compliance and is applied to a score of 70 to 79.
4. "U". The letter grade "U" means
unsatisfactory compliance and is applied to a score of 69 or less.
(m)
Repeat
Violations. A repeat violation means a violation of the same code
provision of this Chapter under an item in a Risk Factors/Public Health
Interventions (RF/PHI), or Good Retail practices (GRP) category as documented
in the previous routine inspection. A repeat violation constitutes the initial
point deduction as specified in subsection (2)(h)2. and 4. of this Rule plus an
additional two-point deduction for one or more repeat violation(s) within a
RF/PHI category and one point deduction in a GRP category from the overall
score (maximum 100 points). If a violation of the same provision of this
Chapter is found in three consecutive routine inspections, the points will be
deducted accordingly; and the food service establishment may be subject to
suspension or revocation of its permit pursuant to subsection (1)(b) of this
Rule.
(n)
Follow-up
Inspections.
1. A follow-up inspection
is a complete inspection conducted as a result of a routine inspection which
resulted in a "C" or "U" grade. If a grade of "C" or higher is earned on the
follow-up inspection, then at the discretion of the Health Authority no
additional follow-up inspections will be required, however, all priority items
and all priority foundation items must be corrected as specified under
subsection (2)(i)1. through 3. of this Rule.
2. The new score and equivalent grade will be
posted on an inspection report during a follow-up inspection. The two previous
inspection grades and scores, whether routine or follow-up inspections, will be
posted subsequently under "Last Grade, Score and Date" and "Prior Grade, Score
and Date" on the inspection report.
(o)
Informal Follow-up
Inspection. If a follow-up inspection as specified in subsection (2)(n)
of this Rule cannot be conducted by the Health Authority, then an informal
follow-up may be performed to confirm correction of the violations that were
cited on the routine inspection that were not corrected at the time of the
inspection. On an informal follow-up inspection, an inspection report
addendum(s) will be completed, documenting the violations that have been
corrected. It will be noted on the addendum(s) that this was an informal
follow-up inspection, and the establishment will keep the same grade that was
earned on the previous routine inspection. The addendum(s) will be made
available by the food service establishment to the public upon
request.
(p)
Voluntary
Closure.
1. If a food service
establishment is graded as a "U" and does not earn at least a grade "C" within
ten days of receiving the "U", it may be requested to voluntarily close until
all violations are corrected or have its food service permit suspended or
revoked according to subsection (1)(b) of this Rule.
2. A food service establishment that is
graded as a "U" on two consecutive routine inspections will be asked to
voluntarily close until all violations are corrected and/or have enforcement
action taken to suspend or revoke the food service permit pursuant to
subsection (1)(b) of this Rule.
(3)
Examination, Condemnation and
Public Notice.
(a)
Examination of
Food. Food may be examined or sampled by the Health Authority when
necessary to determine whether it has been adulterated or misbranded.
(b)
Condemnation of Food, Hold Order,
Justifying Conditions and Removal of Food.
1. The Health Authority may, upon written
notice to the owner or person in charge, place a hold order on any food that
the Health Authority has probable cause to believe to be unwholesome;
originating from an unapproved source; unsafe, adulterated, or not honestly
presented; not labeled according to law, or, if raw molluscan shellfish, not
tagged or labeled according to law; or otherwise not in compliance with this
Chapter. Under a hold order, food shall be moved to a suitable holding area for
storage until a hold order release or destruction order is issued. No food
subject to a hold order shall be used, served, or removed from the
establishment except as specified in paragraph 2. of this subsection. Immediate
destruction shall be ordered and accomplished if there is risk to public
health.
2. If the Health Authority
has reasonable cause to believe that the hold order will be violated, or finds
that the order is violated, the Health Authority may remove the food that is
subject to the order to a place of safekeeping.
3. The hold order notice shall:
(i) State that food subject to the order may
not be used, sold, moved from the food service establishment, or destroyed
without a written release of the order from the Health Authority;
(ii) State the specific reasons for placing
the food under the hold order with reference to the applicable provisions of
this Chapter and the hazard or adverse effect created by the observed
condition;
(iii) Completely
identify the food subject to the hold order by the common name, the label
information, a container description, the quantity, Health Authority's tag or
identification information, and location;
(iv) State that the Health Authority may
order the destruction of the food if a timely request for reconsideration is
not received; and
(v) Provide the
name and address of the Health Authority representative to whom a request for
reconsideration may be made.
4. If a hold order is sustained upon
reconsideration, or if no timely request for reconsideration is made by the
permit holder, then the Health Authority may order the permit holder or other
person who owns or has custody of the food to bring the food into compliance
with this Chapter or to destroy or denature the food under the Health
Authority's supervision.
(4)
Procedure When Infection is
Suspected.
(a)
Investigation and
Control. The Health Authority shall act when it has reasonable cause to
believe that a food employee or conditional employee has possibly transmitted
disease; may be infected with a disease in a communicable form that is
transmissible through food; may be a carrier of infectious agents that cause a
disease that is transmissible through food; or is affected with a boil, an
infected wound, or acute respiratory infection, by:
1. Securing a confidential medical history of
the food employee or conditional employee suspected of transmitting disease or
making other investigations as deemed appropriate; and
2. Requiring appropriate medical
examinations, including collection of specimens for laboratory analysis, of a
suspected food employee or conditional employee.
(b)
Restriction or Exclusion of Food
Employee, or Summary Suspension of Permit. Based on the findings of an
investigation related to a food employee or conditional employee who is
suspected of being infected or diseased, the Health Authority may issue an
order to the suspected food employee, conditional employee or permit holder
instituting one or more of the following control measures:
1. Restricting the food employee or
conditional employee;
2. Excluding
the food employee or conditional employee; or
3. Closing the food service establishment by
summarily suspending a permit to operate.
(5)
Variance.
(a)
Modifications and Waivers.
The Department may grant a variance by modifying or waiving the requirements of
this Chapter if in the opinion of the Department a health hazard or nuisance
will not result from the variance. If a variance is granted, the Department
shall retain the information specified under subsection (5)(b) of this Rule in
its records for the food service establishment.
(b)
Documentation of Proposed Variance
and Justification. Before a variance from a requirement of this Chapter
is granted by the Department, the information that shall be provided by the
person requesting the variance and retained in the Department's file on the
food service establishment includes:
1. A
statement of the proposed variance of the Chapter requirement citing relevant
rule and subsection numbers;Pf
2. An analysis of the rationale for how the
potential public health hazards and nuisances addressed by the relevant rules
and subsections will be alternatively addressed by the
proposal;Pf and
3. A HACCP plan if required that includes the
information specified under DPH Rule
511-6-1-.02(8) as
it is relevant to the variance
requested.Pf
(c)
Conformance with Approved
Procedures. If the Department grants a variance as specified in
subsection (5)(a) of this Rule, or a HACCP plan is otherwise required as
specified under DPH Rule
511-6-1-.02(7), the
permit holder shall:
1. Maintain the approved
variance at the food establishment;Pf
2. Comply with the HACCP plans and procedures
that are submitted and deemed in conformance with DPH Rule
511-6-1-.02(8)(a) through
(e) as a basis for the modification or
waiver;P and
3. Maintain and provide to the Department,
upon request, records specified under DPH Rule
511-6-1-.02(8) that
demonstrate that the following are routinely employed:
(i) Procedures for monitoring the critical
control points,Pf
(ii) Monitoring of the critical control
points,Pf
(iii) Verification of the effectiveness of
the operation or process,Pf and
(iv) Necessary corrective actions if there is
failure at a critical control point.Pf
Notes
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