Utilizing the Illinois Department of Public Health's local health protection grant standards for conducting a food protection program, each food establishment is assessed for determining the relative risks of causing foodborne illness. The minimum number of routine inspections per year is decided by its risk classification.
A Category I facility is a food establishment that presents a high relative risk of causing foodborne illness based on the large number of food handling operations typically implicated in foodborne outbreaks and/or the type of population served by the facility. Category I facilities shall receive at a minimum three inspections per year, or two inspections per year if one of the following conditions is met: 1) a certified food service manager is present at all times the facility is in operation; or 2) employees involved in food operations receive a Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) training exercise, in-service training in another food service sanitation area, or attend an educational conference on food safety or sanitation.
A Category II facility is a food establishment that presents a medium relative risk of causing foodborne illness based upon few food handling operations typically implicated in foodborne illness outbreaks. Category II facilities shall receive at a minimum one inspection per year.
A Category III facility is a food establishment that presents a low relative risk of causing foodborne illness based upon few or no food handling operations typically implicated in foodborne illness outbreaks. Category III facilities shall receive at a minimum one inspection every two years.
Using a variable inspection frequency for each category allows the inspection staff to spend more time with food operations with the greatest potential risk of causing foodborne illness.