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.

NC FOOD CODE CHANGES

EFFECTIVE OCTOBER 1, 2021

Quick Reference of the Changes

NC FOOD CODE (ADOPTED 2021)

SUMMARY OF CHANGES

NEW INSPECTION SHEET

HOW INSPECTION SHEETS ARE MARKED

OCHD CHEAT SHEET FOR NC FOOD CODE NUMBERS

Changes that affect the Person in Charge

REQUIREMENTS OF THE MANAGEMENT

2017 FDA ANNEX FOR CHAPTER 3

Employee Health Policy

FDA EMPLOYEE HEALTH AND PERSONAL HEALTH HANDBOOK 2017

NEW EMPLOYEE HEALTH POLICY (ENGLISH)

NEW EMPLOYEE HEALTH POLICY (SPANISH)

NEW EMPLOYEE HEALTH POLICY (BURMESE)

NEW DECISION GUIDE

EMPLOYEE HEALTH POLICY HANDOUT/ POSTER (NCFD)

Vomit and Diarrhea Cleanup Kits

OCHD VOMIT/ DIARRHEA CLEAN UP PLACARD

SAMPLE VOMIT/ DIARRHEA CLEAN UP PLAN (NCDHHS)

VOMIT/ DIARRHEA CLEAN UP (NCDHHS)

VOMIT/ DIARRHEA POSTER (NCFD DOC)

What's New with Allergen Control

ALLERGEN HANDOUT/ POSTER (NCDHHS)

FAQ's

under construction

JOIN US FOR AN INFORMATION SESSION

MONDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2021, 5PM

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2021, 2PM

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2021, 10AM

Email vhudson@orangecountync.gov for link(s) to the meeting.

COVID SAFETY PLAN RESOURCES

Orange County Health Department fully supports the efforts and the benefits of this curriculum. There are modules that focus training for re-opening and staying open safely for all businesses.

Click here for the full curriculum.

Orange County Health Department is always available to provide assistance when food service establishment employees need language services. Operators can find recorded versions of training meetings in the following languages.

EMPLOYEE SCREENING LONG FORM (WORD DOC) IN ENGLISH
EMPLOYEE SCREENING (EXCEL) BY THE MONTH IN ENGLISH
EMPLOYEE SCREENING (PDF) BY THE MONTH BURMESE
EMPLOYEE SCREENING (PDF) BY THE MONTH KAREN
EMPLOYEE SCREENING (EXCEL) BY THE MONTH SIMPLIFIED CHINESE
EMPLOYEE SCREENING (EXCEL) BY THE MONTH SPANISH
EMERGENCY MAXIMUM OCCUPANCY PLACARD (Required Signage)
STAY STRONG NC KNOW YOUR W’S (Required Signage)
KNOW YOUR W’S BILINGUAL

FACE COVERINGS ARE REQUIRED HERE

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

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

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