Food Safety for Retail Food Service Establishments

Restaurants, food stands and other places that prepare food for sale to the public must get a permit from the Health Department. These businesses are inspected 1 to 4 times per year, depending on the menu’s complexity and the various cooking, cooling, and reheating processes. The goal of each inspection is to identify and correct any conditions that might lead to food-borne illnesses.

Orange County Quick Links

• Inspection Grades FOR ALL ESTABLISHMENTS IN ORANGE COUNTY
• Restaurant Rules INCLUDING THE NC FOOD CODE
• Person in Charge (PIC) Information AND INFORMATION ABOUT HOW TO OBTAIN CERTIFICATES
• How to start a food business with Food Service Establishment Forms and Applications
• HACCP and Variance Information
• Wild Mushroom Foraging & Safety 
• "The Health Inspector on Your Side"-WCOM’s Say Yes To The Chef interviews an Environmental Health Specialist
• SAMPLE TIME AS A PUBLIC HEALTH CONTROL POLICY

Establishment Excellence

Front of the House Food Safety Training

This distinction has been used to recognize retail food service establishments in Orange County who have participated in optional training or continuous quality improvement for food safety.  Establishment Excellence has been used to highlight establishments participating in Front of the House Food Safety Training.  The local training resource is a self-led booklet and video that focuses food safety education on the Front of the House employee actions that can make the difference between food and beverage that is safe or may be unsafe to consume.  

Link to the booklet

Link to the video (WORKS BEST WITH CHROME OR SAFARI)

Link to an optional pre-test

Link to a scoring post-test

Front of the House Food Safety Participants

Zero Waste

In 2020, Orange County Environmental Health will be recognizing establishment who participate in Zero Waste initiatives.  These may be working with Orange County Solid Waste or private contractors to reduce waste impacts from food service or institutional service.  The efforts can be new or on-going.    Check out Zero Waste here.  

Additional Food Safety Resources

• North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services - Environmental Health Section
• Food and Drug Administration Food Code Reference System
• Restaurant Plan Review for Franchise Restaurants
• Free Food Safety and Hygiene Posters
• North Carolina Cooperative Extension Food Safety
• North Carolina Safe Plates Food Safety Education and Certification
• National Restaurant Association Education Foundation Servsafe(R)- Find an Exam
• Food and Drug Administration Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition
• A Guide for Consumers About Food Safety
• Preparedness for Food Service Establishments