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Your Reliable Source for Food Safety
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Tacoma-Pierce County Board of Health adopted the 2025 Fee Schedule on Dec. 4, 2024. New rates begin Jan. 1, 2025.
Fees will increase 5.8% for food establishments. View the new fees on our website.
We continue to improve our service to you while keeping costs as low as possible.
We are fee-for-service. Fees pay for services and improvements like:
- Inspections and education.
- Online permit applications, plan review, and status updates.
- Faster responses to permit applications, plan reviews, inspections, and complaints.
- A more paperless process.
- Scanning paper files into our database to cut the cost of file management.
- A new easier-to-use website.
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Certified Food Protection Managers (CFPM) help create an environment around food safety. They:
- Create procedures.
- Train employees.
- Work closely with the Person in Charge (PIC).
Most food establishments need access to a CFPM. The CFPM makes sure each PIC is trained and able to control food safety.
See the dates for our 2025 CFPM classes (English and Spanish) and learn more about CFPM requirements on our website.
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Have you ever had projectile vomiting, watery diarrhea, debilitating nausea, or intense stomach cramping? Most of us have, and it was most likely from foodborne illness.
Every year, about 48 million people in the United States get sick from foodborne illness, and 3,000 die. It adds up to almost $78 billion in related healthcare costs. In Washington, nearly 1 million people get sick and 60 die from foodborne illness each year.
Costs for people who get sick can range from lost wages due to missed days at work to medical bills from doctors and hospitals. This includes food workers, who can be outbreak victims as well.
If you’re a food business, an outbreak can cost you lost customers, negative social media exposure, lawsuits, and insurance claims.
What are the top 5 germs causing foodborne illness?
In the United States, the most common illnesses and their risk factors are:
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Norovirus: Bare hand contact with ready to eat foods, poor hand washing, and ill food workers.
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Salmonella: Poor hand washing, undercooking, cross-contamination of other foods with raw meat, contaminated equipment, improper holding temperatures, and ill food workers.
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Clostridium perfringens: Improper cooling procedures.
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Campylobacter: Undercooking, cross-contamination of other foods with raw meat, and contaminated equipment.
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Staph aureus: Poor hand washing, bare hand contact with ready to eat foods, improper holding temperatures, improper cooling procedures, and room temperature storage of foods.
What can you do to prevent foodborne illness outbreaks?
Active Managerial Control is the most important and cost-effective factor in preventing foodborne illness outbreaks. This means the Person in Charge (PIC) and a Certified Food Protection Manager (CFPM) create a plan and ensure staff know and follow safe food handling practices. You also must ensure staff follow the Employee Health Policy, report illness to the PIC and do not work when sick.
Report foodborne illness.
Food establishments must report all customer calls, emails or other reports of foodborne illness to the Health Department. We will interview each customer to learn their symptoms, their meal history, and if anyone else in their household is sick.
Many people suspect the last thing they ate when they become sick with foodborne illness. Sometimes this is the case, but most times it’s not. It’s often something they ate a day or several days before their symptoms started. Sometimes even longer than that, depending on the germ.
Email us at Food@tpchd.org, report on our online portal or call (253) 649-1696 to report food-related illnesses.
You can also report foodborne illness to the Washington State Foodborne Illness Notification System (FINS).
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Infestations can happen quickly. They can cause serious health issues like foodborne illness and damage property, even leading to electrical fires. Pests can include rodents, insects, and birds.
To prevent pests:
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Remove entry points: Patch holes in interior and exterior walls, add a door sweep to all exterior doors, and keep doors and windows closed if they don’t have screens. Make sure floor drains and ceiling tiles are properly installed.
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Minimize places that harbor pests: Some types of landscaping or vegetation near the building can make great hiding places for pests, increasing the risk of the pests moving inside. If possible, remove landscaping. If that’s not an option, trim it away from the building and up off the ground.
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Clean regularly: Spills, grease build up, food debris and standing water inside your facility are very attractive to pests. Clean under and behind equipment weekly.
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Keep up on garbage: Take garbage out to the dumpster as needed throughout the day. Make sure the dumpster lid closes securely. If you notice it is becoming full before your regular pick-up day, you may need to increase your garbage pickup frequency. It’s best to not store garbage inside your facility overnight. But if you must, be sure it is tightly bagged and stored away from food preparation and storage areas.
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Food storage: Keep open dry goods like flour or uncooked rice in food-grade containers with secured lids and store them at least 6-inches above the floor. Inspect them regularly for signs of pests.
If you find signs of pests or suspect an infestation, do not attempt to solve the problem on your own. You will need the help of a licensed pest control operator. They have the training and experience to quickly and safely treat the problem in your facility. Sometimes trapping isn’t enough, and only professionals can apply poisons or chemicals. Unapproved chemicals are not safe to use in kitchens and create a risk of contamination.
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Critical violations—like not washing your hands or touching ready-to-eat food with your bare hands—are unsafe practices or procedures that are more likely to cause foodborne illness or injury.
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Rank
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Violation
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Times Cited
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1
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Proper cold holding temperatures
You must cold hold Time/Temperature Control for Safety (TCS) foods at 41F° or colder.
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1,122
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2
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Adequate handwashing facilities
Hand sinks must have:
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Hot and cold running water.
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Soap and paper towels.
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No obstructions.
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728
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3
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No room temperature storage.
You must keep TCS foods at:
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135F° or hotter.
OR
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41F° or colder.
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497
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4
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Proper hot holding temperatures.
You must hot hold TCS foods at 135F° or hotter.
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472
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5
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Compliance with risk control plan, variance, plan of operation; valid permit; approved procedures for noncontinuous cooking.
A food establishment must:
- Have a valid food establishment permit.
- Discontinue operations during an Imminent Health Hazard.
- Submit plans for review and approval before making changes to a facility or menu.
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Operate in accordance with plan of operation and approved procedures.
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468
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6
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Proper cooling procedures.
You must cool TCS foods at a depth of 2” or less, uncovered, and in a walk-in refrigerator until 41F° or colder.
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418
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7
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Toxic substances properly identified, stored, and used.
Chemicals approved for use in a food establishment must be:
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Used according to label instructions and at allowable concentrations.
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Properly identified with a label.
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Stored below and away from food and food contact surfaces.
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335
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The most common violations the last 3 years were:
- Handwash sinks without soap/paper towels/hot water or blocked access.
- Improper cold holding procedures.
The good news—proper raw meat storage and handwashing didn’t make the list this year!
The bad news—cold holding moved into the top spot. This is concerning, especially because of the potential for Listeria, which can grow at low temperatures.
The regulation went into effect June 18, 2024. It requires a covered employer to provide a reasonable accommodation to a qualified employee’s or applicant’s known limitations related to, affected by, or arising out of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. There is an exception if the accommodation will cause the employer an undue hardship. An undue hardship is defined as causing significant difficulty or expense.
How does this relate to food safety?
When you are providing reasonable accommodations for your pregnant workers, it’s important to not create food safety issues or violations. For example:
- If a pregnant worker needs to eat small meals more frequently throughout their shift, they cannot do so over food preparation areas due to potential contamination of food and prep surfaces. The worker should instead step away from prep areas.
- If a pregnant worker needs to drink fluids throughout their shift, they can do so but need to follow food safety rules. A beverage container must have a lid and a straw in food prep areas. The beverage container must be stored below food and prep surfaces, such as on a shelf below the make line.
Learn more about the PWFA regulation.
Food safety questions? Email Food@tpchd.org or call (253) 649-1417.
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