Restaurants and Food Business

The responsibility for ensuring food safety belongs to everyone in your food premises, from the owner or operator to the chef, to the server, to the dishwasher.

Every person has a job to do to meet the requirements listed in the Food Premises Regulation (e-Laws Ontario). Part of that job is keeping your customers and the food that you prepare or sell safe.

Opening a food premises

Anyone wishing to prepare and sell food to the public must notify the Medical Officer of Health in writing prior to the operation of their business. 

Inspections

Public health inspectors address non-compliance with food safety regulations and take action where food may not be safe.

• Public Health prioritizes inspection schedules based on a risk assessment to achieve the greatest impact on community health.
• This approach may result in reduced minimum frequency of inspections of moderate and low risk food premises as mandated through the Ontario Public Health Standards.
• Public health inspectors pay particular attention to ensuring that food is protected from possible contamination by chemicals or microorganisms and that adequate temperature controls are in place during the heating, cooling and storage of hazardous foods.
• The general sanitary and physical condition of the premises is also evaluated during each inspection.

Enforcement action can include the issuance of:

• offence notices (tickets)
• summons
• orders

You can refer to Schedule 41 of the Provincial Offences Act for a list of set fines that can be applied if owners/operators or food handlers are in violation of the Food Premises Regulation.

Inspection results are available online. Check Before You Go!

Legislation

As a food handler, it’s your responsibility to know what the regulations and standards are and to follow them.

The food service industry is regulated by legislation at all 3 levels of government (federal, provincial, and municipal).