Food Safety Inspection Reports
The Kansas Department of Agriculture is responsible for licensing and inspecting food establishments and food processors statewide. These facilities include retail food stores, food service establishments (restaurants, schools, senior meal sites, caterers and mobile food units), food processing facilities, mobile ice cream trucks, food vending machines, food vending machine companies and dealers. These food establishments are regulated under the provisions of the Kansas Food Drug and Cosmetic Act and the Kansas Food Service and Lodging Act.
Inspections are conducted using either the 2005 Kansas Food Code or the 
Food manufacturing regulations-GMPs . The Kansas Food Code is adopted from the FDA Model Code and is based on nationally recognized scientific standards for food safety. The Good Manufacturing Processes are adopted by reference from the Code of Federal Regulations. They are intended to minimize the hazards that can lead to foodborne illness or injury, thus ensuring safe food and optimal levels of sanitation in food establishments. This website is updated weekly with results of those food safety inspections.
Public records: The food safety inspection records you are about to access are public records and contain names and addresses of licensed food establishments. K.S.A. 45-230 prohibits the use of names or addresses derived from public records for certain commercial purposes. Violation of this law is punishable by a civil penalty. Before viewing the inspection records you must acknowledge your understanding of, and agreement, that you will not use any of the information contained in these records for any purpose prohibited by law.
Public Health and Consumer Expectations: Ensuring safe food remains an important public health priority in Kansas. It is a shared responsibility of the food industry and the Kansas Department of Agriculture to ensure that food provided to the consumer is safe and does not become the cause of a foodborne illness outbreak. This shared responsibility extends to ensuring that consumer's expectations are met by confirming that food service establishments are monitored for compliance with recognized food safety standards and that food is unadulterated, prepared in a clean environment and honestly presented.
INSPECTION PURPOSE
There are several reasons that an inspection may be initiated:
Routine: This type of inspection looks at the entire food service establishment and occurs on an annual basis.
Complaint: This inspection is initiated as a result of a consumer complaint.
Licensing: This inspection takes place when a food service establishment is opening or when there is a change in ownership.
Expired Licensing: This inspection looks at the entire food service establishment and occurs if the current license has not been renewed. All licenses expire on December 31 of each year and must be renewed by that date.
Re-Opening: This inspection occurs after a facility has been closed either voluntarily or by regulatory action. This inspection is conducted to ensure that food safety issues have been remediated.
Re-Inspection: This inspection looks at the entire food service establishment. Re-Inspections may be conducted because all critical violations could not be corrected during the previous inspection; because of the number of critical violations cited on the most recent previous inspection; or to ensure food safety compliance after a regulatory action.
Other Regulatory: This designation includes a variety of inspection types from special audits to staff training. The inspection looks at the entire food service establishment similar to the Routine inspection.
FOOD CODE REGULATIONS
The current Kansas Food Code was adopted from the 2005 FDA Model Code. It is based on nationally recognized and scientifically sound standards for food safety. The Kansas Food Code is intended to minimize the hazards that can lead to foodborne illness or injury, thus ensuring safe food and optimal levels of sanitation in food service establishments. Accordingly, the provisions of the Food Code provide a system of preventative and overlapping safeguards designed to minimize foodborne illness by addressing the following:
- Safe food handling practices and interventions
- Manager knowledge and responsibilities
- Employee health and hygiene
- Physical facilities, equipment and toxic material
- Acceptable levels of sanitation on food establishment premises
- Compliance and enforcement
There are two categories of code regulations: Critical regulations and Non-Critical (Good Retail Practices).
Critical regulations: Critical regulations are priority items that are more likely to contribute to a foodborne illness or injury, food contamination or environmental health hazard if not under managerial control. There are 85 critical regulations in the Kansas Food Code. Examples of critical regulations include:
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Food from unsafe or unapproved source
- Inadequate cooking, cooling or holding temperatures
- Evidence of the presence of pests
- Presence of adulterated food
- Poor employee hygiene such as failure to wash hands
- Contamination of food from hands (bare hand contact with ready-to-eat food)
Non-critical regulations: Non-critical regulations (Good Retail Practices) are core items relating to general sanitation and best practices necessary to maintain acceptable sanitation levels. These items are less likely to cause a foodborne illness. However, if left uncontrolled over a period of time, they could contribute to foodborne illness or injury. The Kansas Food Code contains 258 non-critical regulations. Examples of violations of non-critical regulations or poor practices include:
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dirty floors
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inadequate lighting in food preparation or storage areas
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lack of effective hair restraints
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open garbage containers
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dirty hood ventilation equipment
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lack of thermometers
COMPLIANCE LEVEL
Inspections focus on the level of food safety risk by identifying the compliance level with critical food safety regulations. Substantial compliance with the critical regulations is required. In general, if the facility has no more than five critical violations with all being corrected on site while the inspector is present, it is considered to be in substantial compliance. An inspection that indicates substantial compliance is considered to be at an acceptable level of food safety-at this level there is evidence of active managerial control of critical food safety issues. If there is an imminent health hazard, the facility would be required to discontinue operations until the situation is remediated.
If substantial compliance is not achieved, a compliance action is implemented. In most cases this involves issuing a notice of non-compliance and conducting a re-inspection. Food safety compliance actions, consultations, and educational tools are employed to promote increased food safety within the establishment.
Compliance Action: Compliance actions include a variety of activities that the Kansas Department of Agriculture Food Safety Program employs to assist and encourage food establishments to maintain managerial control of food safety procedures that could result in a foodborne illness if left unchecked. Several routine compliance actions occur during an inspection and include the following:
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Correction on-site of violations, if possible, while the inspector is present
- Providing food safety handouts and educational materials during the inspection
- Demonstration of correct food safety procedures such as the rapid cooling method using an ice bath
- Informal consultation/exit interview at the end of the inspection to discuss violations, remediation and to answer questions
- Food safety training on-site or off-site
Other compliance actions may be utilized when the violations continue or for critical violations that may place the public at unnecessary risk of foodborne illness or injury. These compliance actions are grouped into two categories - 'A' and 'B.' The categories are 'compliance progressive' and directly relate to the need to ensure that the best food safety practices are employed to protect the health of consumers.
Category A Compliance Action may include the following activities:
- Notice of Non Compliance: The notice reminds the establishment that substantial compliance is required and it establishes a time frame for a re-inspection.
- Risk Control Plan: This action is recommended by the inspector and is voluntary on the part of the establishment. It identifies specific food safety procedures that need controlled by the establishment. It sets up a method of maintaining control and provides food safety education to the establishment.
- Follow up inspection: A second inspection may be scheduled to verify the correction of critical food safety issues.
- Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point Survey (HACCP): HACCP is similar to the Risk Control Plan but on a much larger scale. The inspector conducts an extensive survey that identifies the flow of food preparation and the process used in the establishment. The survey is presented to management of the establishment and best operating practices are recommended for optimum managerial control of food safety risk factors.
- Warning Letter: This letter is sent to the establishment encouraging them to come into voluntary compliance with food safety regulations and to maintain managerial control of food safety issues. It is generally sent after an administrative review if recent inspections indicate that substantial compliance with the food code has not been achieved or when other enforcement activities are not yet suitable. It establishes an increased inspection frequency based on past performance for numerous or repeated violations of the Kansas Food Code.
- Voluntary Closure: Management agrees to voluntarily close the establishment for a short period of time to devote time to the correction of critical food safety issues.
- Embargo: Prevents the sale or movement of food that is not in compliance with food safety regulations.
- Embargo Release: Food under an embargo may be released if food is brought into compliance with food safety regulations, returned to the manufacturer, or other reason.
- Voluntary Destruction: Management agrees to voluntarily destroy food that is not in compliance with food safety regulations.
Category B Compliance Action may include the following activities:
- Summary Order: This action may be issued when a re-inspection shows that the establishment remains non-compliant with repeated critical violations. It documents formal findings of non-compliance. There is an appeal process that may lead to hearing or settlement.
- Administrative Penalty: An intent to impose a civil penalty (fine) may be issued when a re-inspection shows that the establishment remains non-compliant with repeated critical violation. There is an appeal process that may lead to a hearing or settlement.
- Cease and Desist Order: This action may be issued when a re-inspection shows that the unlicensed establishment remains in non-compliance with repeated critical violations.
- Notice of hearing to suspend or revoke license: License revocation or suspension is a compliance action used when other enforcement activities have not succeeded and when serious food safety issues continue to be repeated with no management resolution forth coming. It may be issued after other compliance action or as a stand alone intervention in some serious circumstances.
- Notice of hearing to deny license: An action that is employed when an establishment cannot meet licensing requirements that ensure food safety for consumers.
- Settlement Conference: This action generally takes place in Topeka and may be used to discuss on-going food safety issues or to agree upon specific actions that need to be implemented to improve standard operational procedures. The goal is an increase in managerial control resulting in compliance with food safety standards.
- Temporary Emergency License Suspension: The emergency suspension may be issued to a food service establishment to protect the public in case of a serious imminent health hazard. The suspension is effective for up to 90 days. There is no appeal process.
