How the inspection process works
Champaign-Urbana Public Health District inspectors use a 46-item checklist to determine each restaurants score out of 100. Click here to view a sample inspection form. Inspectors can suspended a restaurants permit if there are imminent health hazards, such as a lack of hot water throughout the facility.
For minor violations, such as dirty bathrooms or employees without proper hair restraints, inspectors deduct 1 or 2 points. For critical and major violations for example, food stored at improper temperatures or insects or rodents present in a restaurant they take off 4 or 5 points.
Critical violations, which present a more immediate health risk, must be corrected before the end of the inspection. If major violations, which require outside assistance to address, cannot be corrected during the inspection, they must be fixed within 5 days. The restaurant must notify inspectors of the corrections in writing within 10 days.
To find a restaurants adjusted score, the public health district multiplies the number of critical and major violations by five and multiplies the number of repeated violations by two. Those totals are then subtracted from the original score.
There are several possible outcomes of an inspection:
- Adjusted score 36 or higher: Restaurant passes its inspection and remains open, unless there are imminent health hazards. Any critical violations must be corrected during the inspection.
- Adjusted score 0 to 35: Restaurant fails its inspection but corrects critical violations immediately and major violations within 10 days. Restaurant remains open and is re-inspected within 30 days.
- Adjusted score 0 to 35: Restaurant fails its inspection and critical violations cannot be corrected during the inspection. In consultation with the district, the restaurant can close voluntarily until problems are addressed or shut down parts of the facility related to the violation until it is fixed. Re-inspection occurs within 30 days.
- Adjusted score 0 to 35: Restaurant fails its inspection and subsequently fails its mandatory re-inspection. Permit is suspended. After correcting problems and being re-inspected, the restaurant schedules an administrative hearing with health officials before reopening.
- Adjusted score below 0: Restaurant fails its inspection and its permit is suspended. After correcting problems and being re-inspected, the restaurant schedules an administrative hearing with health officials before reopening.
How often restaurants are inspected
Food-serving locations are placed into one of three categories to determine how often they are inspected:
- Category 1: High-risk facilities, such as hospital commissaries and restaurants that prepare more complex foods and extensively handle raw ingredients, are inspected three times a year. At least two inspections are unannounced, and the third can be an educational session with staff.
- Category 2: Moderate-risk facilities, such as restaurants that prepare food with minimal assembly, receive an unannounced inspection once a year.
- Category 3: Minimum-risk facilities, such as taverns or businesses that serve prepackaged foods, receive an unannounced inspection once every two years.
Legend
Restaurant and number of inspection failures- To fail, a score of less than 36 out of 100 points is needed.
- Critical individual violations are multiplied times 5.
- Repeat individual violations are multiplied times 2.