Green, Yellow, Red Placard Program
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Food Safety Program Enhancements: Sacramento County was the first County in California to post color-coded placards to display inspection results for food facilities beginning January 1, 2007. These placards assist patrons with making an informed decision regarding food safety prior to entering the food facility.
Placards
- Green Placard ("Pass"): A acceptable level of compliance was achieved.
- Yellow Placard ("Conditional Pass"): Violations were observed that required immediate correction and a follow-up inspection that will be conducted within 24 to 72 hours.
- Red Placard ("Closed"): Closure is required when an imminent danger to public health or safety is observed.
In addition to the Color-Coded Placarding Program, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors approved the following Food Safety Program Enhancements:
- Increased Inspection Frequencies.
- Educational Workshops for Retail Food Facility Operators.
- Public Outreach to provide information on the different color placards.
- Additional Inspection and Support staff.
Timeline
All Sacramento County retail food facilities have a color-coded placard, which facilities are required to post within five (5) feet of the main entrance. New facilities will receive a placard with their first regular inspection, which occurs within the first 30 days of operation.
Where
The placard posting requirements apply to all Sacramento County retail food facilities, including the cities of Sacramento, Folsom, Citrus Heights, Rancho Cordova, Elk Grove, Isleton and Galt, as well as in unincorporated areas of the County.
Inspection Reports
A copy of the inspection report will continue to be available upon request at the food facility itself, and will continue to be available on the Food Inspection web site. The web site inspection result reflects the color of placard that was issued at each facility.
Increased Inspection Frequency
The number of inspections per year varies by the type of facility. Routine inspections at facilities that prepare food occurs three times per year. The inspection frequency for retail markets is two routine inspections per year.
Food Facility Inspection Results
Pass - Green Inspection Placard
No more than one (1) major violation (corrected during the inspection) was observed. Minor violations, if any, are required to be corrected within the time frame indicated on the inspection report.
A re-inspection may be conducted if any of the violations are not permanently corrected in a timely manner.
Conditional Pass- Yellow Inspection Placard
Two (2) or more major violations were observed during the inspection. All major violations noted on the inspection report must be corrected or mitigated immediately.
A re-inspection will be conducted within 24-72 hours to ensure that the major violations remain corrected. Minor violations are required to be corrected within the time frame indicated on the inspection report.
If all major violations remain corrected during the re-inspection, a green pass placard will be issued at the re-inspection.
CLOSED - Red Inspection Placard
An imminent threat to health and safety was observed and the facility was required to close.
Examples of imminent health hazards are: surfacing sewage, no hot water, rodent/insect infestation, or severe unsanitary conditions.
The red closed placard must remain posted and the facility closed until a re-inspection is conducted to confirm that the imminent health hazard no longer exists. A new placard may be issued at the re-inspection.
When facility closure occurs the violation that caused the facility closure is indicated on the results page. The major violation (or violations) that triggered the closure are indicated on the Inspection Information page with the word "CLOSURE" as the beginning of the violation description.
For routine inspections, this result indicates that no major or minor violations were noted during the inspection. The inspection report itself may include comments, suggestions or educational notes to the restaurant management.
This inspection result is no longer in use for most facilities after January 1, 2007 (see color placard inspection results, above) but continue to appear for several facility types (Produce Stands, Farmer's markets, mobile food trucks, etc.) for which placards are not issued.
For re-inspections, this result indicates that the violation(s) cited in a previous routine inspection have been corrected. Re-inspections focus on previously identified violations, and by themselves do not constitute a new routine inspection.
This inspection result is no longer in use for most facilities after January 1, 2007 (see color placard inspection results, above) but continue to appear for several facility types (Produce Stands, Farmer's markets, mobile food trucks, etc.) for which placards are not issued.
Inspection or re-inspection yielded one or more minor violations. Minor violations are not usually listed on the Inspection Information area of the page, but the details can be obtained by reading the inspection report on the web.
Minor Violations as the outcome of a facility re-inspection may have been caused by one or more conditions from the routine inspection not being adequately corrected at the time of the re-inspection, or by a new violation noted by the inspector during the re-inspection. Please see the inspection report for details.
Minor violations are those that do not pose an imminent public health risk, but warrant correction.
This inspection result is no longer in use for most facilities after January 1, 2007 (see color placard inspection results, above) but continue to appear for several facility types (Produce Stands, Farmer's markets, mobile food trucks, etc.) for which placards are not issued.
Inspection or re-inspection yielded one or more major violations. Major violations are listed on this site as well as being shown on the inspection report itself. Major violations usually require a mandatory re-inspection by this department to confirm that the violation has been addressed unless the cause of the violation is immediately corrected during the inspection itself.
If recurring or new major violations have been documented during a re-inspection, it will be noted on the website. In such cases a second re-inspection will be conducted.
Major violations are those violations that pose an imminent risk to public health and may warrant immediate closure of the food establishment or immediate correction.
Major violations that are corrected during the inspection are indicated on the Inspection Information page with the words "Corrected at time of Inspection" added to the end of the violation description.
This inspection result is no longer in use for most facilities after January 1, 2007 (see color placard inspection results, above) but continue to appear for several facility types (Produce Stands, Farmer's markets, mobile food trucks, etc.) for which placards are not issued.
Inspection yielded one or more major violations serious enough to warrant closure of the facility. The type of violations that warrant closure are those that are not corrected immediately and could pose a danger to the public health.
When facility closure occurs the violation that caused the facility closure is indicated on the results page. The major violation (or violations) that triggered the closure are indicated on the Inspection Information page with the word "CLOSURE" as the beginning of the violation description.
This inspection result is no longer in use for most facilities after January 1, 2007 (see color placard inspection results, above) but continue to appear for several facility types (Produce Stands, Farmer's markets, mobile food trucks, etc.) for which placards are not issued.
This result is used after a facility closure to indicate that the facility can re-open for business. Depending on the nature of the closure violation and the corrective action taken, the reopening inspection can occur as soon as requested by the facility, possibly as soon as the same day of the closure.
This inspection result is no longer in use for most facilities after January 1, 2007 (see color placard inspection results, above) but continue to appear for several facility types (Produce Stands, Farmer's markets, mobile food trucks, etc.) for which placards are not issued.
Inspection result not recorded in our database. This is more common for inspections conducted prior to 2003.
An ownership change has occurred at this facility. Reports preceding the date of ownership change may not be an accurate representation of facility conditions under the new ownership. A routine inspection is generally conducted within 30 days after an ownership change occurs.