FOOD SAFETY PROGRAM
The Vineland Health Department, Division of Environmental Health, is responsible for the food safety aspects of about 400 retail food establishments in Vineland plus vending machines.
The goal of the program is to assure safe food to the public through efforts such as increasing awareness about safe food handling with food handlers, owners, and managers; routine inspections with mandated corrections; and legal enforcement and/or closure when all other efforts fail. We view food safety as a partnership between retail food establishments and this department.
While we look at all aspects of the operation, our concentration is on the 5 major risk factors identified by the Center for Disease Control. These risk factors are the aspects of food handling that directly cause foodborne illnesses most often. They are:
• Poor personal hygiene
• Inadequate cooking temperatures
• Improper holding temperatures
• Unclean food contact surfaces
• Unsafe food sources
Increased knowledge has shown to improve the practices of food handlers and thus, reduce the risk of foodborne illnesses. Our educational efforts occur not only during routine inspections but also in classroom settings and newsletters. (See “classes” for details of any current offerings. See “newsletters” to download recent issues.)
Inspections are conducted based on the New Jersey State Code (NJAC 8:24-et al). This regulation can be viewed or printed from this website. Our retail food establishments are all placed in a “risk type” from 1 to 4. Please see details about this in the following:
