A health inspection checks whether a kitchen controls the things that make people sick: who's in charge, staff health and hand washing, where food comes from, temperatures from delivery to cooling, cross-contamination, sanitizer, chemicals and pests, and the records that prove it. The best way to pass is to run the same check yourself every week, so the inspector finds what you already found and fixed. Below is what's on the checklist, the temperatures most codes use, a filled-in week, and a free self-inspection checklist with a fixes log.
The short version
- Run your own inspection weekly, with the same list the inspector uses.
- Temperatures most codes use: cold at 41°F or below, hot at 135°F or above.
- Cooling: from 135°F to 70°F within 2 hours, and to 41°F within 6 hours in all.
- Ready-to-eat food held more than a day is date-marked and used within 7 days.
- Sanitizer at the right strength, checked with test strips; thermometers calibrated.
- Records: temperature, cooling and cleaning logs on hand, the permit posted.
- TaroStack keeps the checks on the batches and counts they belong to. More below.
Where the checklist comes from
State and local health departments write their rules and inspection forms from FDA's model Food Code, now in a 2026 edition (FDA Food Code), so inspections commonly follow the same pattern: the risk factors behind foodborne illness first, then the kitchen itself. The temperatures below are the Food Code's; your health department's code is the one that counts, so check its numbers and its form. This is general information, not legal advice. What a kitchen needs before it opens is in co-packer vs commercial kitchen.
The checklist
| Area | What the inspector looks for |
|---|---|
| Supervision | A person in charge who knows the rules; a manager certificate posted |
| Employee health | Staff report certain illnesses and symptoms; a written policy |
| Hands | Handwashing sinks stocked and used; no bare hands on ready-to-eat food |
| Approved sources | Ingredients from licensed suppliers, with invoices |
| Receiving | Cold deliveries at 41°F or below, frozen ones frozen |
| Cold holding | Coolers at 41°F or below, with thermometers, and a log |
| Hot holding | Hot food at 135°F or above, checked and logged |
| Cooling | 135°F to 70°F within 2 hours, to 41°F within 6, logged |
| Date marking | Ready-to-eat food held over 24 hours dated, used within 7 days |
| Cross-contamination | Raw meat below ready-to-eat food; separate boards; allergens apart |
| Sanitizer | The right strength, checked with test strips |
| Thermometers | Working and calibrated |
| Chemicals | Labeled, stored below and away from food |
| Pests | No signs; doors and screens closed; pest control records |
| Storage | Food off the floor, covered, labeled |
| Facilities | Clean, repaired surfaces; shielded lights; hot water at sinks |
| Records | Permit posted; temperature, cooling and cleaning logs |
A week's self-inspection
Rocktown Tamales, a made-up tamale maker in Harrisonburg, Virginia, I use in these examples, runs the list every Monday in its own kitchen. On November 9, cooling fails: a batch of pork filling is at 78°F two hours after cooking, above the 70°F it should have reached. The fix goes in the log: the filling is moved to shallow pans in an ice bath and rechecked at three hours at 52°F, on track for 41°F by six. The next batch is cooled in shallow pans from the start. That entry, and the ones like it, are what an inspector wants to see: problems found and fixed, not a blank sheet. How a temperature log is kept is in temperature log template.
Get the checklist
Download the commercial kitchen inspection checklist. Two sheets: a self-inspection, with each item and a column for each week's check (✓, ✗ or n/a) and a count of the weeks it passed; and fixes, for what failed, what was done, by whom and when. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
The checklist says cooling was checked; the inspector asks for the cooling log for the batch made on the 9th, and for which customers got it. A weekly sheet on a clipboard can't answer that unless every batch's readings were written down and kept with the batch.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack keeps the checks on the batches and counts they belong to.
Cooling on the batch. A batch record form carries your own fields, such as the temperature at two hours and six hours, with limits and a sign-off, so the cooling record for the batch made on the 9th is on that batch. How batch records work is in what is a batch record.
Receiving with temperatures. Each delivery is received with its lot, supplier and fields of your own such as the temperature on arrival, so approved sources and receiving are on record.
Dates and holds. Lots carry their dates, so ready-to-eat food nearing its seventh day shows first, and a batch that failed a check can be held, kept out of use, until it's sorted out.
| The job | Clipboard | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| Cooling for one batch | A line on a weekly sheet | Fields on the batch, with limits |
| Temperature at delivery | A note on the invoice | A field on the receipt |
| Food near its seventh day | Read every label | Dates, earliest first |
| A batch that failed a check | Set aside, maybe | Held from use |
Batch records, receiving, lots and holds are on every plan, from $49 a month. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.