About Food Facility Inspections
The Environmental Health Services Food Facility Inspection Search page allows the public to search online for inspection results for all food facilities in Marin County. Food facilities inspected include: permanent food facilities such as restaurants and grocery stores; mobile food facilities such as food carts and food vending vehicles; and temporary food facilities such as food booths operating at community events.
Inspections
Marin County has over 1,400 food facilities that are inspected on a routine basis to monitor compliance with state and local laws, such as the California Retail Food Code (Cal Code). Unannounced inspections are performed by a Registered Environmental Health Specialist (REHS). Our team of Environmental Health Specialists conduct inspections using a statewide standard Food Inspection Report. The Inspection Report lists all possible code violation sections, including critical and noncritical (a.k.a. Good Retail Practices). The REHS provides the facility with the completed copy of the food inspection report at the end of the inspection. Under state law each food facility must maintain a copy of the most recent environmental health inspection report onsite, and must make the report available for review by interested parties upon request. Food facilities inspected include restaurants, bars, grocery stores, coffee shops, bakeries, community event food booths, food carts, food vending vehicles, and schools (public and private).
Violations
Violations observed at a food facility are either critical or noncritical. Each critical violation is identified on the report as a major critical or minor critical. They represent conditions found during the inspection; the facility's present condition may be different. This site lists the Cal Code section and code description for each violation observed at a facility. A critical violation may be listed more than once for an inspection if it is observed in more than one location at the facility. When critical violations are found, they are immediately corrected or a suitable alternative is implemented until they are corrected. Specific information that further describes the critical and noncritical violations observed can be found on the paper inspection report. Examples of critical violations include unsafe temperatures of potentially hazardous food, improper hand-washing, food from an unapproved source, or improper cleaning and sanitizing of food contact surfaces.
Reporting an Error
All efforts have been made to ensure that the information provided on this site accurately reflects the inspection reports prepared by EHS. Each inspection report contains inspection data such as the type of inspection, and, if applicable, the violation(s) observed. The data does not become an "error" when the problem/violation on the inspection report is corrected; that dated inspection report is historical data. EHS does not update this site based on submissions by operators stating that violations have been corrected or major violations eliminated. When the facility is inspected/ re-inspected, that data from the most recent inspection report is added to the existing data on the site. If an error is discovered, the inspection data will be corrected (usually within two business days of notification to EHS). Please contact the EHS service counter at (415)473-6907 to report all errors.
Public Records Request
Food facility inspection reports are considered public information under the California Public Records Act. All inspection records are available at the EHS service counter for review. Copies of inspection records can be obtained by completing and returning the Environmental Health Services' Public Records Request for Information form to EHS.