FAQ

1. Why have you decided to post health inspection reports of restaurants on the Web?

  • Mainly to provide the public with more information in order to allow them to make informed choices about where to dine, but also to highlight the reality that the vast majority of our food service establishments are safe, clean and well run. Sensational media coverage of the worst 1% of our restaurants unfairly paints the remaining 99% with the same brush.

2. How often is a restaurant inspected in Vancouver Coastal Health?

  • The frequency of inspection depends on the "relative risk" of the establishment and the resources available to Health Protection. At a minimum restaurants are targeted for a full inspection once per year, with more frequent inspections for those establishments found to have a history of poor food handling or other deficiencies in their food safety plans.

3. What does a public health inspector/environmental health officer look for when conducting an inspection of a restaurant?

  • In general, they are looking for deficiencies or violations of provincial and local public health and food safety regulations. In practice, these are generally considered as "critical" violations or "maintenance & operational" items. (See Inspection Terms for more details)

3a. What are some examples of "critical hazards"?

  • Critical hazards include unsafe cooking practices, obtaining food from unapproved sources, poor employee hygiene, infestations, inadequate dish washing/sanitizing, inadequate refrigeration.

4. Does the restaurant operator get advance notice of the health inspection?

  • No, the inspections, although pre-planned by the inspector, are conducted on a surprise basis, without any prior warning.

5. What happens as a result of an inspection, if serious problems are found?

  • Depending on the severity or riskiness of the problem, the operator is given a specific time to correct the deficiency or risk further penalties. In the vast majority of cases the operator can have the problem corrected promptly, sometimes even while the inspector is still there.

6. What if the operator doesn't correct a serious problem in the prescribed time?

  • The health inspector has a number of tools available to bring about compliance with the regulations and promote food safety. These include ticketing, prosecution, closure and removal of the permit or business license.

7. Why haven't you included "hazard ratings" in your website?

  • Hazard ratings of a facility based on inspection results are a subjective way of the inspector summarizing the inspection. Although this might be fine for the health authority's own use and to share with the operator, it can be quite mis-leading to the general public. The misinterpretation of a rating or a score not only impacts on the poorly run establishments, but can adversely and unfairly impact on the vast majority of restaurants that provide a safe dining experience.