The City of Toronto's food premises inspection and disclosure system, DineSafe, requires you to:
- Meet or exceed all of the requirements and standards in the Ontario Regulation 562, as amended, Food Premises, made under the Health Protection and Promotion Act.
- Comply with the new requirements under Toronto's Municipal Code 545-Licensing.
1. The Food Premises Regulation
All food premises operators in the Province of Ontario must, by law, follow specific requirements in order to operate a food premises. The Food Premises Regulation contains the minimum standards that must be followed in any place where food is handled, prepared, stored, served or offered for sale. It indicates the minimum standards for food temperatures, food handling, sanitation, dishwashing and personal hygiene practices.
2. Toronto's Municipal Code 545-Licensing
As of January 2001, Toronto's Municipal Code 545-Licensing requires eating and drinking establishments (i.e. every place where food items intended for human consumption are made for sale, offered for sale, stored or sold), to do the following:
- Post the food safety inspection notice in an obvious place clearly visible to members of the public, at or near the entrance of the establishment;
- Post the Toronto eating or drinking establishment licence next to the food safety inspection notice;
- Produce copies of the Toronto Public Health Food Safety Inspection Reports relating to the currently posted disclosure notice for your establishment, when requested by any person;
- Notify the Toronto Municipal Licensing and Standards Division if there is a change in the management or control of the establishment; and
- Notify the Toronto Municipal Licensing and Standards Division of any change or changes to the operation of the business that may result in "risk classification changes", at least 30 days prior to the change.
Inspections and Notices
When the Public Health Inspector visits your establishment for an inspection, the inspector will use a standard Food Safety Inspection Report form to check how well your establishment meets the regulations and requirements.
The results of an inspection will depend on the types of infractions that are noted during the inspection. An infraction occurs when you do not comply with the requirements in the Food Premises Regulation. Infractions are divided into three categories (minor, significant and crucial) depending on the potential risk to health.
When the inspector has completed the inspection, you will receive one of three food safety inspection notices:
- a PASS (for no infractions or Minor Infractions only);
- a CONDITIONAL PASS (when Significant Infractions are observed); or
- a CLOSED (when Crucial Infractions are observed).
You need to post this notice immediately and keep it posted in a location where it is easy to see at, or near, the main entrance of your establishment.
Inspection results for each establishment will also be posted on the Toronto Public Health website (DineSafe) and will remain posted for two years.
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A PASS Notice will be issued when an establishment is in compliance with the Food Premises Regulation or when only Minor Infractions are identified at the time of the inspection. Minor Infractions are items that are not likely to present a significant or immediate risk to the health of the public.
If Minor Infractions are repeated at the next inspection, the Public Health Inspector may issue a ticket to obtain compliance. Fines range from $45 to $370 depending on the severity of the infraction.
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How do I get a PASS Notice?
- Meet or exceed the requirements in the Food Premises Regulation.
These requirements are summarized in the Eight Simple Steps to a Pass.
The PASS Notice must be posted immediately in a visible location at, or near, the main entrance of the establishment until the next inspection is completed.
| MINOR INFRACTIONS |
- Infractions that present a minimal health risk.
- These items must be corrected by the next inspection.
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| Examples: |
- Walls, floors or other non-food contact surfaces or equipment need cleaning or repair (e.g., cracked or missing floor tiles, cracked or peeling paint not directly over food preparation area)
- Inadequate ventilation and lighting systems
- Hair constraints not worn
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| Any infraction, including a Minor Infraction, is considered non-compliance with the Food Premises Regulation. |
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A CONDITIONAL PASS Notice is issued when one or more Significant Infractions are observed during an inspection.
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First re-inspection
When a CONDITIONAL PASS Notice is issued, a Public Health Inspector will re-inspect your establishment within 24-48 hours of the initial inspection. Infractions must be corrected by the time the Public Health Inspector returns. If the infractions are corrected and no other infractions or only Minor Infractions are found, a PASS Notice will be issued.
If the infractions are not corrected by the time of the first re-inspection, a ticket will be issued and a second re-inspection will be conducted at a later date. Where the infractions are corrected by the second re-inspection and there are no other significant or crucial infractions found, a PASS Notice will be issued.
Second re-inspection
However, if at the time of the second re-inspection the items have not been corrected, a summons to court will be issued and a referral to Toronto's Municipal Licensing and Standards Division may occur. Another CONDITIONAL Pass Notice will be issued.
The CONDITIONAL PASS Notice must be posted immediately in a visible location at, or near, the main entrance until the next inspection is completed.
How can I change my CONDITIONAL PASS Notice to a PASS Notice?
- Correct all of the items within the 24-48 hour re-inspection time period.
- Meet or exceed the requirements in the Food Premises Regulation.
These requirements are summarized in the Eight Simple Steps to a Pass.
| SIGNIFICANT INFRACTIONS |
- Infractions that present a potential health hazard.
- These items must be corrected within 24-48 hours or legal action may be taken.
- These items indirectly involve food, through handling, preparation, storage and/or service.
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| Examples: |
- Food contact surfaces or equipment require cleaning or repair
- Repair of refrigeration and mechanical dish washing equipment required
- Accurate indicating thermometers not provided
- Lack of hand wash basin with the necessary supplies
- Garbage not stored in a sanitary manner
- Improper cleaning and sanitizing of equipment and utensils
- Washroom cleanliness not maintained, supplies not provided
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A CLOSED Notice is issued when one or more Crucial Infractions are observed during an inspection. An Order to Close the establishment and/or remove the health hazard will be issued.
When an Order to Remove a health hazard is issued and complied with, a CONDITIONAL PASS Notice will be posted until a re-inspection, if there are other outstanding significant infractions. A PASS Notice will be issued when there are no outstanding infractions or only minor ones.
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What happens if I get a CLOSED Notice?
When a food premises is ordered to close, a CLOSED Notice and a summons to court will be issued. The Public Health Inspector will visit daily to make sure you comply with the order and that your establishment remains closed. Failure to comply with an Order to Close will lead to additional charges.
When all of the infractions listed in the Order and all other significant or crucial infractions are corrected, the establishment will receive a PASS Notice and may be re-opened. Any repeated or new crucial infractions may result in the operator being issued with a summons to court and referral to the Licensing Tribunal for further action.
The CLOSED Notice must remain posted in a visible location at, or near, the main entrance of the establishment.
What you MUST do when you get a CLOSED Notice:
- Remain closed until the infractions listed in the order are corrected and the Public Health Inspector approves re-opening.
- Once you have re-opened, make sure you meet or exceed all of the requirements in the Food Premises Regulation.
These requirements are summarized in the Eight Simple Steps to a Pass.
| CRUCIAL INFRACTIONS |
- Infractions that present an immediate health hazard.
- These items directly involve food, such as contamination, time-temperature abuse or lack of safe (potable) water or any other condition that is a health hazard.
- These items must be corrected immediately or an Order to Close the premises can be issued and/or immediate action must be taken to remove or eliminate the health hazard.
- Enforcement action will be taken.
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| Examples: |
- No hot and cold running water under pressure in food preparation area or where utensils are washed
- Rodent or insect infestation without effective method of pest control
- Inadequate refrigeration
- Sewage back-up
- Lack of safe potable water
- Food contaminated or adulterated
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Food Premises Inspections
At least once per year the Public Health Inspector will use a Risk Assessment Form, which follows Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care guidelines, to determine the risk level for each eating and drinking establishment.
| Risk Level |
Risk Assessment Criteria |
Minimum Inspection Frequency |
| High Risk |
Any eating or drinking establishments that prepare hazardous food and meet at least one of the following criteria:
- serve a high risk population
- use processes involving many preparation steps and foods frequently implicated as the cause of foodborne illness
- implicated or confirmed as a source of foodborne illness/outbreak
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three times per year |
| Medium Risk |
Any eating or drinking establishments that meet one or more of the following criteria:
- prepare hazardous food without meeting the criteria for high risk
- prepare non-hazardous foods with extensive handling or high volume
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two times per year |
| Low Risk |
Any eating or drinking establishments that do not prepare hazardous food and meet one or more of the following criteria:
- serve pre-packaged hazardous foods
- prepare and/or serve non-hazardous foods without meeting the criteria for medium risk
- are used as a food storage facility for non-hazardous foods only
- public health concerns related primarily to sanitation and maintenance
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one time per year |
