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Resolution No. 14-044
RESOLUTION ADOPTI' ETIL FOOD FACILITY PLACARDING PROGRAM
WHEREAS, programs that rate food safety at retail faced facilities and provide the result of the
rating to the pu iblic as either a grade scare or a calor-coded placard have been shown to protect
public health by reducingthe occurrence of foodborne illness; and
WHEREAS, the Food Safety Advisory Group was established in 2013 as an ad-hoc committee
to assist the Pu,ubilic Health Department prioritize areas of development and quality improvement for
the department's food safety program; and
WHEREAS, the Food .Safety Advisory Committee determined that a placarding program vwousld
be best-suited to meet the needs of Butte County residents; and
WHEREAS, the proposed placarding program was, presented to both the retail food industry
and the general public through a series of regional workshops, mailings of written iinforrnation, and
web-based information; and
WHEREAS, survey results from the industry and public workshops and from the web-based
survey indicated that the proposed placarding program was supported by the retail food industry and
the general public; and
WHEREAS, Butte County Board of Supervisors received testimony from members of the retail
food industry and from the general public in support of the proposed placarding program at the
Board's December 10, 201.3 meeting.
THEREFORE, RE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Supervisors of the County of Butte
hereby adopts the Placarding Program, attached as Exhibit ,4, as the policy and procedural framework.
for implementing a retail food facility color-ceded placarding program in Butte County, effective
concurrently with the effective date of the implementing county ordinance.
PASSED AND ADOPTEDthis 22"o day of April, 2014, by the f lil owing votes:
AWES: Supervisors Connelly, Wahl, Kirk, Lambert and Chair Teeter
ES, None
NOT'VOTING: None
SSE TNene
. ..........
DOUG TEETER, Chair
Butte County Beard of Supervisors
ATTEST:
PAIL FlAHN, Chief Administrative 0 icer anid Clerk of the Board of Supervisors
By: ' �' (4
lr,, y
- Exhibit A -
Butte County Placarding Program
April 22, 2014
Introduction
The purpose of this plan is to provide an overview of a color-coded placard system for retail
food facilities, including restaurants, markets, school lunch programs, and mobile food facilities.
The program plan is organized into the following sections:
A. Inspection Frequency
B. Placard Criteria
C. Placard Location
D. Placard Maintenance
E. Compliance
F. Implementation
A. Inspection Frequency
Routine inspection frequency for food facilities is determined by the risk-based category as-
signed to the facility. The following table describes our three risk-based categories:
Risk-Based Inspections
Category Description per er Year
A ➢ Food facility that has received 1 Red Closed or 2 Yellow Condi- 3
tional Pass placards within a 24 month period
➢ Restaurant
➢ Grocery store/market
B ➢ School cafeteria 2
➢ Health care facility
➢ Mobile food facility with significant food prep
➢ Food facility with no food preparation (and no utensil washing
C area other than that used for ice scoop and bagging ice) 1
➢ Mobile food facility with limited food prep
- Page 1-
B. Placard Criteria
The placardinig system is designed to minimize occurrence of the five most critical risk factors
for foodborne illness as identified by the US, Centers for Disease Control (CDC):
1. Food from unsafe sources
2. Inadequate cooking
3. Improper holding temperatures
4. Contaminated equipment
5. Poor personal hygiene
Assignment of color-coded inspection placards is based on the following factors:
• Number of Major Violations observed during a food facility inspection
• Presence of a major violation observed in three consecutive inspections
• Presence of an Imminent Health Hazard that cannot be mitigated or corrected during the in-
spection
• Failure to follow the timetable outlined in a Compliance Agreement that has been established
by mutual agreement between the food facility owner and Environmental Health
Explanation of Terms
1mr,ninent Health Hazards are major violations that pose a significant threat of causing
r I t al z
foodborne sand
im
or
r�oo=brne illness and require immediate correction or closure of the facility.
Major Violations, are food products, handling practices, circumstances, or events that
that are most likely to result in foodborne illness and therefore receive the highest pri-
ority for correction.
Minor Violations are conditions that do not constitute an imminent health hiazard, but
which create non-sanitary conditions for the preparation of food. Minor violations in-
clude some food temperature violations, pliumbing issues,, excessive build-up of grease
and debris, in non-food contact areas, and walls, floors, or equipment that cannot be
easily cleaned due to dilapidated conditions.
A CoMplLmnce Agreement is, a written agreement between the food facility owner and
=EnviEnvironmental) Health that specifies a mutually agreed upon timeline for correction of
ronmentalv Health
specific
ificminor 10
pecific minor violations.
A more in-depth description of major and minor violations observed during retail food facility
inspections is contained in Environmental Health's Retail Food Facilltv Field lal,,,s�pection�Guide
that can be found under "Headlines and Topics" at this link:
hqL%ybuttern gjLtL,n et uublich ea11bLqLjv ronrnqi2LqYeLiyLi[on!RfL
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- Page 2 - Butte County Placarding program - April 22, 2014
The three color-coded placards are described in the following table:
The following criteria must be met for issuance of a Green Pass placard:
11 GREEN PLACARD No more than one tryajoy,viblath.)n
............ ....................................
One of the following conditions would result in issuance of a Yellow
Conditional Pass placard:
• Two or more major,vialations, or
YELLOW PLACARD * Violation of a compliance agreement for correction of non-major vio-
lations, or
• The same ruicVbr vichatiorp observed in three consecutive inspections
....................... -----........... . .............................................................
Any major violations that pose an imininent health hazard that cannot
0 RED PLACARD be mitigated or corrected duriing the inspection willl require closure of
I the facility
C. Placard Location
Upon completion of a routine inspection or re-inspection, facility operator will post the placard
so as to be clearly visible to the general public and to patrons entering the food facility. Under
most circumstances, this means that the placard will be posted by the facility operator in one of
the following locations:
• In the front window of the food facility
• In a display case mounted on the outside front wall of the food facility within five feet of
the front door
• In a location approved by Environmental Health staff to ensure proper notice to the
general public and to patrons
If the food facility is operated in the same building as a separately permitted or licensed busi-
ness, or if the facility shares a common patron entrance with a separately permitted facility or
licensed business, the placard must be posted in the initial patron contact area.
Under certain conditions the affected area of the facility may be posted with the Red Closed
placard and the remainder of the facility be allowed to remain open: and posted with a Green
Pass or Yellow Conditional Pass placard. In such cases, a Red Closed placard will be posted at
the affected area and a Green Pass placard or Yellow Conditional Pass placard will be posted at
the approved location by the main entrance. In order for this provision to apply, both of the fol-
lowing conditions must be met:
• The affected areas of a facility can, be isolated, such as in facilities with several! permits
or multiple billing units (e.g. supermarkets with delis and meat markets); and
• The facility can operate in a safe manner without the isolated area
- Page 3 - Butte County Placarding Program - April 22, 2014
D. Placard Maintenance
A placard remains valid from the time of issuance until a new placard is issued at time of rou-
tine inspection, re-inspection or change of ownership. Defacing, marring, hiding, or removing
the placard is prohibited. Defacing or premature removal of a placard may result in one or
more of the following enforcement actions:
• Issuance of a citation for an infraction of county code
• Suspension or revocation of the facility's Permit-to-Operate
• Billed daily re-inspections
E. Compliance
Re-inspections for Yellow Conditional Pass placards will take place within 24 hours after the ini-
tial inspection. Re-inspection for Red Closed placards will take place within 24 hours of receipt
of a request by the facility to re-inspect. If necessary, re-inspections may be conducted during
the weekend.
If a repeat major violation exists at the re-inspection or if two or more new major violations are
observed, a new Yellow Conditional Pass placard will be issued. if all original major violations
are corrected at the re-inspection and one new major violation is observed, a Green Pass plac-
ard will be issued.
When a facility receives repeated re-inspections without compliance being attained, measures
will be initiated to provide the food facility owner and operator with additional information,
training, and/or incentives to correct the observed deficiencies, as shown in the following table:
Phased Interventions
When a Second Re-Inspection is Required
➢ If the violations resulting in the initial Yellow Conditional Pass placard have not
been corrected so that a second re-inspection is required:
• A letter will be sent to the facility owner reinforcing the information
provided in the inspection report
• Additional educational information and resources will be provided to
the facility operator
• The second re-inspection will be billed at Environmental Health's hour-
ly rate
- Page 4- Butte County Placarding Program -April 22, 2014
Phased Interventions
When a Third Re-inspection is Required
➢ When the violations resulting in the Yellow Conditional Pass placard still have
not been corrected so that a third re-inspection is required:
• A letter will be sent to facility owner reinforcing the information pro-
vided in the inspection report and, depending on the compliance histo-
ry of the facility and the type of major violation that is recurring, one of
the following actions will be taken in an effort to attain compliance:
1) The facility owner, manager, and staff will be required attend a
food safety class put on by Environmental Health or another train-
ing approved by Environmental Health; or
2) A compliance meeting with the Environmental Health Director will
be scheduled to provide the facility owner an opportunity to justify
why the facility's Permit-to-Operate should not be suspended or re-
voked
• The third re-inspection and Environmental Health time for the cost of
the food safety class will be billed at Environmental Health's hourly
rate
When a Third Re-inspection Does Not Achieve Compliance
➢ When the violations resulting in the Yellow Conditional Pass placard still have not
been corrected,the facility's Permit-to-Operate will be suspended or revoked follow-
ing the procedures specified in the California Retail Food Code.
F. Program Implementation
Pilot Program
There will be a 6-month pilot "soft" implementation period prior to actual issuance and posting
of placards. During this 6-month period,the following activities will take place:
➢ Environmental Health staff will provide regional training workshops for food facilities
and the public to increase familiarity with the program
➢ Environmental Health staff will provide all food facilities affected by the program with
written information by mail and individual facility training upon request
➢ Environmental Health's Consumer Protection Supervisor will work with staff to assure
that inspection methodology, observations, and code interpretation are fully standard-
ized to avoid inconsistencies
- Page 5 - Butte County Placarding Program - April 22, 2014
Full Implementation
After completion of the 6-month pilot "soft" implementation period, all food facilities will be
mailed a Green Pass placard to post at the entrance of their facilities. In addition, the Food
Safety Advisory Group will meet to assess the need for any changes in program implementation
based on experience obtained during the initial implementation period.
- Page 6- Butte County Placarding Program -April 22, 2014