Alameda County commercial kitchen compliance

Alameda County Department of Environmental Health, Environmental Protection Division enforces the California Retail Food Code (CalCode) and overlays a numeric deduction scoring system that determines a Green/Yellow/Red placard posted at the food facility. Each routine inspection begins at 100 points. Violations are recorded on the Official Retail Food Inspection Report, which contains 51 numbered items split into two categories: - Items 1-23 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Risk Factors / Major Violations): deduct 4 points or 2 points per occurrence (per-item point value indicated on the Official Retail Food Inspection Report; e.g. item 1 is 2 pts; items 5, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 20, 23 are 4 pts; items 7, 8, 14, 16, 21, 22 can be 4 pts or 2 pts depending on severity). Multiple violations within the same numbered item across different equipment or food units are counted separately and points deducted for each occurrence. - Items 24-51 (Approved Retail Practices / Minor Violations): deduct 1 point per item. Multiple sub-violations within a single numbered item are counted as one violation and deduct only 1 point. Final score = 100 - sum of deductions. The resulting score determines the placard: - GREEN (PASS): 80-100 points. Good food handling practices. No more than one corrected major Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Risk Factor violation. - YELLOW (CONDITIONAL PASS): 75-79 points. Minimally acceptable practices. Mandatory re-score reinspection within 7 days; fee charged. - RED (CLOSURE / NOTICE OF CLOSURE): 0-74 points. Permit suspended; facility closed until reinspection passes at 75 or above. If 75-79 on the reopening inspection, a mandated reinspection follows within 7 days. Imminent health hazards (sewage overflow, no potable water, no hot water at any critical sink at or below 100F, no refrigeration, gross unsanitary conditions, vermin infestation, communicable disease transmission) trigger closure independent of score. Sanitizer requirements per CalCode: chlorine 100 ppm / 30 seconds, iodine 25 ppm / 1 minute, quaternary ammonium 200 ppm / 1 minute. Hot holding minimum 135F; cold holding maximum 41F (45F permitted for specific exempted foods per CalCode 113996). Time as a Public Health Control permitted per CalCode 114000 with documented procedures and discard times.

Inspection results published by the agency are mirrored at Alameda County on ScoreTable.