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British Columbia Health Inspection Readiness Check

Environmental health officers in British Columbia arrive unannounced. They check what your kitchen is doing right now, and they ask to see the paperwork behind it: FOODSAFE certificates, your food safety and sanitation plans, and the logs that show you follow them.

This check asks about the things they look at most, including the BC rules on FOODSAFE coverage and written plans. It takes about three minutes. You'll see your score and your biggest gaps straight away.

Check your kitchen

Turn on JavaScript to work through the questions one at a time and get your score.

Which describes you?
Does the operator hold FOODSAFE Level 1 or an equivalent certificate, and is a certified employee present whenever the operator is away?

Count only current certificates from FOODSAFE or a course on the BCCDC equivalency list.

Do you check and write down fridge, freezer and hot-holding temperatures every day?

With a probe thermometer, at set times, on a log someone signs.

When you cool cooked food in bulk, do you check that it cools fast enough?

Soups, stocks, rice and braises cooled for the next day.

Is every handwashing sink stocked with soap and paper towels, and used only for handwashing?
Do staff know to report vomiting, diarrhea or other illness symptoms before a shift, and do you keep sick staff off food?
Do you test sanitizer strength and dishwasher temperatures or chemical levels?

Test strips for sanitizer buckets and sinks, and the dishwasher gauge or strips.

Do you follow a written cleaning schedule that staff sign off?
Is stored food covered, labelled and dated, with raw meat kept below ready-to-eat food?
Can staff tell a customer which menu items contain each priority allergen?

Canada's priority allergens are peanuts, tree nuts, milk, eggs, wheat and triticale, soy, sesame, mustard, fish, crustaceans and molluscs (shellfish), and sulphites.

Do you check for signs of pests and keep a record of pest control visits?
Do you have a written food safety plan and sanitation plan that match how the kitchen works today?

How the score works

Each answer earns full, half or no credit. The 3 questions about things inspectors treat as a health hazard count three times as much as minor ones, and significant items count twice. Your score is the share of points you earned: 85 or more reads as inspection-ready, 60 to 84 as a few gaps to close, and below 60 as needs attention. A health-hazard question that isn't fully in place keeps the score out of the top band.

Gaps are listed by how many points they cost you, so the first one is where to start.

Questions about the British Columbia check

Is this an official BC health inspection score?

No. It's a self-check based on what environmental health officers commonly look at. Your health authority's inspection report is the only official result.

Does every BC employee need FOODSAFE?

No. The operator must hold FOODSAFE or an equivalent certificate, and at least one employee present must hold one whenever the operator is away. Many kitchens train more staff so breaks and absences stay covered.

What do I get if I enter my email?

A full report covering every gap, a step-by-step plan to fix each one, and links to printable checklists. You can also open those checklists in a free TenorOps account.