The Rockland County Department of Health Food Program issues over one thousand permits to various food service establishments in Rockland County.  Routine, unannounced inspections are made of each facility at least once a year, but a full service establishment that serves a variety of food items will be inspected more frequently.  For example, a concession stand that serves popcorn and nachos would not be visited as often as a diner or a restaurant.  If the routine inspection is not satisfactory, the manager is given a time frame for compliance and a re-inspection is made within that period of time.  Additional inspections conducted at an establishment when a patron registers a complaint regarding sanitary conditions or suspected illness.

You can view the most current inspection reports online for all Rockland County food establishments that have been issued a permit to operate under the NYS Department of Health Sanitary Code.  Inspections in the database date back to 2005.  Only red "critical" violations are listed for older inspections, but beginning November 2013 blue "non-critical" violations were added.  Our online reports also indicate whether the results are from a routine inspection or a re-inspection.

Red "Critical" Violations relate directly to factors that could lead to food-borne illness and must be corrected at the time of inspection.  These violations generally involve the food source and condition, food cooking and storage temperatures, sanitary practices of food workers, water and sewage, pest control and the use of toxic materials.

Blue "Non-Critical" Violations do not directly cause food-borne illness, but could negatively affect the operation of the restaurant.  They relate to the design and maintenance of the establishment as well as cleanliness.  Blue violations have only been added to the database since November 2013.  Any inspection listed prior to this date will only show red violations.

An individual inspection is a "snapshot" in time and is not always reflective of the normal day-to-day operations and overall condition of an establishment.  Because this database shows a history of each establishment's inspections since 2005, it can provide a more complete picture.  If you need information about an inspection conducted prior to 2005 or want more information about blue violations prior to November 2013, contact the Rockland County Heath Department FOIL Officer at (845) 364-3381.

Read the New York State Sanitary Code Part 14-1.