Food Safety – General Information & Emergency Response

View the 2022 Food Protection Program fees, effective 1.3.22.

The Food Safety Program’s primary goal is to protect the community against foodborne illnesses caused by poor food handling practices and unsafe food products.

Our agency provides services in all communities throughout Cuyahoga County, except for the city of Cleveland.

We license and inspect all facilities at the retail level that sell food. Examples are daycares, fairs, festivals, grocery stores, nursing homes, restaurants, school cafeterias among others.

Focusing on food safety education with the operator is a critical piece of our inspection process.

What we do to protect public health

• • Complaint Response – we investigate food-related complaints received from the public.
    
    
  • Education – we provide food safety classes for the food industry and the public.
    
    
  • Emergency Preparedness – food safety guidance for use during power outages and other emergencies
    
    
  • Food Safety Planning – help with monitoring the flow of food from purchase to serving.
    
    
  • Inspection – all licensed food shops, mobile operations, and temporary events to ensure compliance with the state’s food safety code. 
     
  • Investigation – conduct food source trace-back investigations due to recalls.
    
    
  • Licensing – we are responsible for all retail food service and food establishment operations in our jurisdiction.
    
    
  • Outbreak Response – we investigate foodborne outbreaks, complaints and reports.
    
    
  • Plan review – is required for all retail food operations.
    
    
  • Special Event Inspection – inspect carnivals, chili cook-offs, fairs, festivals, and farmers’ markets. 

Risks to maintaining food safety 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified five risk factors that are the cause of foodborne illness in homes and restaurants.

The information below will help you in avoid these risks and prepare your food safely, protecting your family and friends from foodborne illness.

The five CDC risk factors 

• Getting your food from an approved source or vendor
• Maintaining proper cooking temperatures
• Properly cooling food
• Maintaining clean and sanitary equipment
• Good personal hygiene

It is our goal to help improve the health of the community by providing information and advice about how to make food safely.

Whether you represent a commercial business or are just making food for your family, please take advantage of the information available on our website. 

Tips for preparing healthy and safe food

• Purchase food at the peak of freshness at local farmers markets or from grocery stores and markets that are inspected by CCBH or other local health departments.

• Wash produce thoroughly to remove dirt which could contain pathogens (disease-causing germs).

• Keep raw and ready to eat foods separate to prevent cross contamination – raw foods  can contain pathogens that can make you sick.

• Store raw food below and separate from ready to eat foods.

• Be sure to clean cutting boards, knives and other utensils used to prepare raw food with warm soapy water before using them.

Follow these four easy steps to prepare food safely at home

Step 1: Clean

Clean hands are a must! Food is only as safe as the hands that prepare it.

If hands are dirty, all of the food they touch becomes contaminated with pathogens (disease causing germs).

Wash hands thoroughly with warm soapy water for at least 20 seconds and use a disposable towel to dry them.

Step 2: Separate

It is very important to keep kitchen surfaces like cutting boards, counter tops and food utensils clean and sanitary.

Wash these surfaces with warm soapy water, rinse them and let them air dry before beginning to work with food.

Never place clean food items on dirty surfaces because food will become contaminated (dirty) and could make you sick.

Step 3: Cook

ALWAYS monitor your cooking temperatures with a calibrated or digital metal-stem thermometer to make sure that your food is cooked to the right temperature.

ALWAYS stick the probe into the thickest or deepest part of the food to be sure food is cooked all the way to the center. Hold it there for 15 seconds to be sure it reaches the right temperature.

Under-cooked food can make you sick and possibly kill you.

For a list of proper cooking temperatures, please click here.

Step 4: Chill

Keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold!

Never store foods between 42-134⁰F because this range is known as the DANGER ZONE!

Food stored in the temperature danger zone quickly grows pathogens (disease-causing germs. You can become sick in a matter of hours.

ALWAYS monitor your refrigerator temperature by purchasing a small, plastic thermometer that easily fits on any shelf. Check it once or twice weekly to be sure it stays between 38-41⁰F .

Additional Resources

• Avoid these Dangerous Food Safety Mistakes
  
  
• Food Keeper App
  
  
• How to Clean Produce Using Vinegar
  
  
• Kitchen Companion Booklet 
  
  
• Local food inspection reports can be found here

Emergency Preparedness Links

• Food Safety During Power Outages, Floods & Fires – USDA
  
  
• How to Operate a Food Operation Safely During a Water Outage – ODH
  
  
• Keeping Food Safe During an Emergency – Frequently Asked Questions – USDA
  
  
• Making Water Safe During an Emergency – CDC
  
  
• Reopening After a Flood – ODH
  
  
• Sewage Backup in a Food Operation – ODH
  
  
• Water Service Interruption in a Food Service Operation – ODH