TenorOpsFood Safety
BC Restaurant Inspection Readiness Check
A free self-check for BC restaurants. Answer 11 questions on FOODSAFE coverage, written plans and daily records and see what an EHO would likely flag.
Why we built a BC-specific check
Most inspection checklists are written for "restaurants" in general. That's fine for temperatures and handwashing, which look much the same in Kamloops as they do in Kingston. But an environmental health officer (EHO) in British Columbia also checks things that only BC asks for. Two of them trip up operators more than anything else: who in the building holds a FOODSAFE certificate, and whether the written food safety and sanitation plans still describe how the kitchen actually runs.
So we built a short self-check around what BC officers look at. It takes about three minutes. Start the British Columbia check and you'll have a score before your coffee goes cold.
What it asks
There are 11 questions. Nine are about practices every Canadian inspector looks for:
- Daily temperature records for fridges, freezers and hot holding
- Cooling large batches fast enough
- Handwashing sinks that are stocked and kept clear
- A rule for staff who are sick
- Testing sanitizer strength and the dishwasher
- A cleaning schedule that people sign off
- Storage: covered, labelled, dated, with raw meat below ready-to-eat food
- Allergen information staff can actually give a customer
- Pest checks and pest control records
The other two come straight from the Food Premises Regulation.
FOODSAFE coverage. The operator has to hold a FOODSAFE Level 1 certificate or one from a course the BCCDC lists as equivalent. Whenever the operator is away from the premises, at least one employee who is present must hold one too. That's the rule. It doesn't say every shift lead needs a certificate, and it doesn't require one on site when the certified operator is there. Where kitchens get caught out is the gap in between: the operator heads to the bank, the certified cook is on a break or off sick, and for an hour nobody on shift holds a current certificate. Our BC FOODSAFE guide goes through expiry dates, equivalent courses and what to do when a certificate can't be found.
Written plans. Sections 23 and 24 of the regulation require a written food safety plan and a sanitation plan. Most kitchens wrote theirs when they applied for a permit. The question is whether those plans still match the menu, the equipment and the cleaning routine you have now. An officer may compare what the plan says with what your logs show. The BC food premises checklist covers what goes into each plan.
How the score works
Every answer earns full, half or no credit. Questions about things officers treat as an immediate health risk, like temperature control, handwashing and sanitizing, count for the most. Significant items, including FOODSAFE coverage and your written plans, count for two-thirds as much.
Your score is the share of points you earned, out of 100. The check then lists your gaps by how many points each one cost, so the first gap is the one to fix first. Three show up on screen straight away. Nothing is hidden behind a sign-up to see where you stand.
It is a self-check, not an inspection. Your health authority's report is the only official result, and your own permit conditions or your EHO's directions may ask for more than this covers.
How ready is your kitchen? Score it against British Columbia's rules in about three minutes. Take the free check →
What the emailed report adds
If you want the full picture, enter your email after you see your score. The report lists every gap, not just the top three. Each one comes with:
- What you answered, so you can see why it counted against you
- One line on why an inspector cares about it
- Two or three concrete things to do this week
- A link to the guide that covers it in depth
At the end are the checklists that would close those gaps: a temperature log, a cleaning and sanitizing check, a monthly training review, and so on. You can print them, or open them in a free TenorOps account where they're already set up and scheduled for you.
Three gaps that are easy to miss
None of these feel like problems day to day, which is why they survive until an inspection.
Temperatures get checked but not written down. The cook knows the walk-in is fine because they looked at the dial. But "we check" doesn't show an officer anything. A two-line log, twice a day, with initials, does.
FOODSAFE coverage is fine on paper and thin in practice. One certified manager and a schedule that assumes they never take a day off. Training two or three more people is cheaper than the stress of an uncovered shift.
The plans live in a drawer. They were accurate in 2019, before the new combi oven and the brunch menu. Updating them is an afternoon's work, and it often shows up a record you've stopped keeping.
If any of these sound familiar, take the check and see where your kitchen lands. Running a group across several provinces? The national overview links every province and territory's version. If you're in Vancouver specifically, the Vancouver inspection guide explains how Vancouver Coastal Health runs its visits.