How inspections work
There is no federal restaurant inspection
The word “FDA” appears on nearly every state's food rules, which leads most people to assume a national system exists. It does not. Understanding the actual structure is the difference between reading a report correctly and misreading it badly.
A model code, adopted unevenly
The FDA publishes the Food Code, which it describes as “a model for best practices to ensure the safe handling of food in a retail setting” and a document that assists food control jurisdictions “by providing them with a scientifically sound technical and legal basis” for regulating restaurants, grocery stores and institutions (FDA, Food Code). Local, state, tribal and federal regulators use it as a model to write their own rules.
Crucially, it is a model — not a mandate. Each state legislature or agency decides whether to adopt an edition, which edition, and how heavily to amend it. The FDA has published full editions on a four-year cycle since 2005, and the 2022 edition is the most recent full edition (FDA). Across the 51 jurisdictions on this site, the editions in force span more than two decades — several states are still operating on a code written in the 2000s, and a few have no FDA adoption at all.
Then it is handed to whoever is local
Enforcement sits below the state line more often than above it. 24 of 51 jurisdictions delegate restaurant inspection to counties, health districts or cities. This is the single most important fact about American restaurant inspection, and it explains nearly every inconsistency people notice: different scoring scales, different portals, different inspection frequencies, different definitions of a “critical” violation.
Why the burden is worth taking seriously
The CDC estimates that each year 48 million people get sick from a foodborne illness, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die (CDC, Food Safety Basics). Inspection is an imperfect instrument aimed at a real problem. Reading a report as a snapshot of practices — rather than a verdict on a business — is closer to how the system is designed to work.
The ten risk factors
These are the practices the FDA's own National Retail Food Team observes in its Retail Food Risk Factor Study, chosen because the CDC commonly identifies them as contributing factors in outbreaks.
- 01
Employee handwashing
When, how long, and at which sink. The most-cited practice in American restaurants, and the cheapest to fix.
- 02
Bare hand contact with ready-to-eat food
Prevented with utensils, deli tissue, or single-use gloves — for anything that will not be cooked again.
- 03
Cross contamination
Raw protein above or beside ready-to-eat food, shared boards, shared wash water, unwashed produce staged next to plated food.
- 04
Cleaning and sanitizing food contact surfaces
Correct chemical, correct concentration, correct contact time — and a test strip that proves it.
- 05
Cold holding
Refrigerated food held at the temperature the code requires, verified with a calibrated thermometer rather than a dial on the door.
- 06
Hot holding
Steam tables and holding cabinets that maintain temperature through a slow service, not just at the start of one.
- 07
Cooling
Cooked or ambient food brought down through the danger zone within the time the code allows. Depth of the pan matters more than most cooks expect.
- 08
Date marking
Refrigerated ready-to-eat food labeled so that discard day is obvious to anyone who opens the door, not just to whoever made it.
- 09
Cooking raw animal foods
Final internal temperatures verified by probe, by item, at the moment of service.
- 10
Reheating cooked foods
Previously cooked food brought back through temperature properly before it enters hot holding.
Source: the FDA's Retail Food Risk Factor Study, which also observes reduced oxygen packaging, use of time as a growth barrier, allergen management, and consumer advisories for raw or undercooked animal foods.
What the public actually gets to see
Counted from the 51 state pages on this site.
24
The report lists what was observed. There is no grade or score to compare against anything.
8
Usually points deducted from 100 — but the deduction tables differ from state to state.
5
The familiar A/B/C card is rarer than its cultural footprint suggests.
14
Jurisdictions where we confirmed a statewide duty to post the result where customers can see it.
Common questions
Why doesn't the United States have one national restaurant grade?
Because retail food regulation is a state and local function. The federal role is to publish a model code and provide technical support, not to inspect restaurants. Building a national grade would require 51 jurisdictions to agree on one scoring method and to publish comparable machine-readable data. Bulk data exists in only 16 of them today, and some of those feeds are years stale.
Is a restaurant with more violations worse than one with fewer?
Not reliably. Inspectors differ in how granularly they itemize findings, and codes differ in what they require to be recorded. A long report from a thorough inspector can describe a safer kitchen than a short report from a rushed one. Read what the violations are, and whether the same ones repeat across visits.
What is a “critical” or “priority” violation?
Most modern codes separate violations that directly relate to foodborne illness risk — temperature, handwashing, cross contamination — from those that relate to maintenance and general sanitation. The labels vary: critical, priority, priority foundation, core, major. When you read a report, find that distinction first. It carries far more information than the total count.
Can a restaurant be closed on the spot?
Yes, in every jurisdiction we reviewed, for conditions treated as an imminent health hazard — a sewage backup, no hot water, no power, a pest infestation, a confirmed disease outbreak. Closure is a control action, not a punishment, and reopening generally follows correction and re-inspection rather than a waiting period.
How often is a restaurant inspected?
It varies by jurisdiction and usually by risk category — establishments doing more complex food handling are scheduled more often. Because frequency is set locally, the interval between reports on a portal tells you as much about the health department's staffing as about the restaurant.
Now check the rules where you actually operate
Each state page names the agency, the lookup, the result format, the posting rule, and the food code edition in force.