Restaurant Inspections

Whether dining out or purchasing food to go, Clark County residents and visitors should expect their health to be protected as the Clark County Public Health and the Food Service Industry work together to ensure compliance with proper food handling practices.

Facilities serving food to the public such as restaurants, delis, grocery stores and temporary vendors must obtain a permit and be routinely inspected by Public Health Food Safety Specialists. Inspections evaluate each facility's compliance with the State food code. Clark County has more than 1500 permitted food service facilities that, depending on the complexity of their menu and preparation processes, receive one to three or more unannounced inspections per year. There are two types of violations recorded on the inspection report.

• Red violations reflect conditions that create a high risk of food borne illnesses or injury, such as failure to ensure:
  • Temperature is controlled, such as holding foods hot enough until served, cooking meats to the proper temperature and keeping foods cold enough
  • Proper hand washing facilities and procedures are followed
  • Bare hand contact with ready to eat foods is avoided
  • Foods are properly cooled and/or re-heated
  • Food is obtained from approved sources
  • Food is protected from cross contamination

• Blue violations reflect conditions that have a low risk of transmitting food borne illness or injury, but fail to control potential contamination of foods from addition of bacteria, chemicals or physical objects, such as failure to ensure:
  • Utensils and equipment are properly constructed and cleaned
  • Sewage and garbage disposal facilities are adequate
  • Vector control measures are effective
  • Proper hygienic practices are followed

Each violation is given a numerical value (2-30) based on its risk of causing food borne illness. Blue violations should be corrected immediately when possible, but generally do not impose an immediate risk to the public. Red violations involving food safety must be corrected immediately. There are 330 possible red points and 88 possible blue points for a total of 418 points. A facility found with twenty or more red violation points is subject to an automatic follow-up inspection. A facility with 100 or more total points is subject to automatic closure.

In addition to conducting routine inspections, health department staff review construction plans for new and remodeled food preparation areas, conduct assisted living and public school facility inspections, respond to citizen complaints regarding food handling practices and investigate suspected cases of food borne illness.

View CVTV report on restaurant inspections