Q. What if I can’t find a food facility I know exists in Solano County or the food facility appears, but the information provided is not complete?

A.  All efforts have been made to ensure that the information provided on this site accurately reflects the results from the last two inspections for all  food facilities in Solano County.   Please call (707) 784-6765 and ask for the Consumer Protection Section to inform them of any discrepancies you detect.

Q. How many food facilities are there in Solano County?

A. Solano County has over 1300 food facilities that are inspected on a routine basis to monitor compliance with the California Health and Safety Code, sections 113700 et. seq. These sections are referred to as the California Retail Food Code or Cal Code.

Q. How are food facility inspections performed?

A. Inspections are performed by Environmental Health Specialists who are currently registered by the State of California or are in training to receive state registration by working under the oversight of other Registered Environmental Health Specialists in accordance with a State approved training plan.  The Environmental Health Specialist will typically arrive at a food facility unannounced to perform the inspection.  During the inspection, the food facility operations and maintenance is evaluated against statewide standards designed to ensure that safe, sanitary practices are being implemented and the facility is well maintained.  The purpose of the inspection is to reduce those risk factors that contribute to food borne illness.  After an inspection the Environmental Health Specialist will discuss the findings and the required corrective action with the operator.  A timeline by which the corrections must occur will then be given.  If a violation is observed that presents an imminent risk to public health, then immediate action is required to be taken to correct the violation.

Q.  What is a violation and how do major and minor violations differ?

A. All food facilities operating within the State of California are required to be in compliance with the health and safety standards found in the California Health and Safety Code.  Violations represent conditions occurring at the food facility at the time of inspection that do not comply with California Health and Safety Code requirements. 

Major violations are those violations that pose the most significant risk for foodborne illness and require immediate action to correct to ensure public health protection.  They can be noted for conditions such as unsafe food holding temperatures, inadequate cooking practices, food being obtained from unsafe sources, use of severely contaminated equipment, and poor personal hygiene practices, such as inadequate hand washing. 

Minor violations are those violations that can contribute to food borne illness, but the existing condition does not pose such a significant risk that immediate action is required.

Q. What is the difference between a routine and a follow-up inspection?

A routine inspection is the initial inspection for a food facility.  A food facility may be inspected anywhere from one to three times per year based on level of risk posed by its food preparation activity.  A routine inspection will typically evaluate the entire facility’s operations.  A follow-up inspection, if warranted, is a focused inspection that evaluates if the violations observed at a routine inspection have been corrected.

Q. Are there ways other than this web page to obtain the information found during an inspection?

Under state law a food facility must maintain a copy of the most recent environmental health inspection report onsite and make the report available for review by interested parties upon request.  You may also review or obtain a record from the Department of Resource Management, Environmental Health Services Division, Consumer Protection Section at 675 Texas Street, Suite 5500, Fairfield, CA 94533 or by calling 707-784-6765.  There is a charge for copies. 

Q. Will I be able to review inspection reports going back several years?

A. The data base is currently programmed to provide inspections reports for the last 2 inspections conducted at a facility going back no further than July 2007.  So, the data base will only display the last two current routine and/or re-inspections within this time period.  Inspection information before the last two inspection reports can be obtained by contacting the Department of Resource Management, Environmental Health Services Division, Consumer Protection Section at 675 Texas Street, Suite 5500, Fairfield, CA 94533 or by calling 707-784-6765.