Critical items are weighted at 4 and 5 points, and less serious items are weighted at 1 and 2 points. Food service establishments scoring less than 85 are re-inspected within 10 working days. Critical items must be corrected immediately, or within 48 hours, unless the violations are corrected at the time of the inspection being conducted. An establishment may be closed immediately and its permit suspended for violations that the sanitarian making the inspection feels may jeopardize public health and safety. Sanitarians may also close establishments for repeatedly performing poorly on inspections, or repeatedly failing to correct critical items.
High risk are establishments with complex preparation of potentially hazardous foods.
These include, but are not limited to, milk or milk products, eggs, meat, poultry, fish and shellfish. High risk establishments are inspected at least 3 times a year. Medium risk are establishments, such as fast food restaurants, having more limited preparation of commercially frozen or pre-prepared items. These are inspected at least once a year. Finally, we have low risk establishments, such as convenient stores, where there is no preparation of potentially hazardous foods and only commercially packaged items are sold.