Preparing for a restaurant health inspection

Preparing for a restaurant inspection means being ready to show how food is handled and how employees carry out their jobs. Los Angeles County’s published process includes both examining kitchen practices and assessing employees’ knowledge of their tasks. County inspectors also check required manager certifications, food-handler cards and availability of the last inspection report.

This guide draws on official materials reviewed October 3, 2026, including the FDA’s 2026 model Food Code.

Start with the applicable rules#

The 2026 FDA Food Code offers model rules for adoption by jurisdictions. A restaurant’s requirements come from its regulatory authority and the rules adopted where it operates.

The model calls for separating raw animal foods from ready-to-eat food and preventing contamination between different raw animal foods. In refrigerated storage, keep raw poultry below or away from beef, fish, pork and ready-to-eat food so drips cannot contaminate them. Putting every raw protein below prepared food does not address contamination between raw foods.

Under the model, handwashing sinks remain accessible and dedicated to that use. Employees wash when switching from raw to ready-to-eat food and before putting on gloves to begin a food task.

The model’s employee-health rules distinguish reporting, restriction, exclusion and return to work. The required response depends on the illness and, sometimes, the population served.

Connect the procedure to the task#

FDA’s April 2006 voluntary food-safety management manual describes training, purchasing specifications, equipment maintenance and written procedures as parts of an ongoing management system. Its process approach groups menu items by how they move through the operation: preparation without cooking, cooking for same-day service, or more complex preparation involving cooling and reheating.

The manual also asks operators to consider ingredients, handling and the population served, and recommends working with regulators or another food-safety professional to identify hazards and controls.

Monitoring procedures identify what to check, how, how often and who is responsible. Corrective actions are planned in advance, and verification checks that procedures are followed.

New York City’s advisory inspections#

New York City offers optional advisory inspections for newly opened restaurants before their first graded inspection. Operators receive an ungraded review, identified violations and ways to fix them, followed by a report. These differ from required pre-operational inspections before new eating and drinking establishments serve customers.

The city also offers advisory inspections to operating restaurants that have already received a letter grade and are between inspection cycles. That service includes a review of operations and interviews with kitchen staff. The published fees are $100 for the new-restaurant service and $400 for the existing-restaurant service.

Although these advisory inspections carry no grade or fines, public-health hazards must be corrected before the visit ends or the department may temporarily close the establishment until the condition is corrected.

Turn the findings into a response#

Los Angeles County’s process includes a closing conference with the person in charge to review findings and allow questions. The inspector completes a written report and schedules reinspection when applicable.

The county sets correction dates according to the violations and the facility’s history. A major critical risk factor left uncorrected at the end of the inspection results in permit suspension. The report and the authority’s directions establish the next actions for that restaurant.