A commercial food preparation area has to meet the FDA Food Code’s health code requirements for surfaces, plumbing, temperature control, lighting, ventilation, equipment, employee hygiene, and pest exclusion before a local health department will issue a permit to operate. Most jurisdictions adopt the Food Code as their baseline and layer additional rules on top, so compliance starts with the federal framework and gets stricter from there.
Surfaces, Floors, Walls, and Ceilings
Indoor floors, walls, and ceilings in prep areas must be smooth, durable, easily cleanable, and nonabsorbent wherever moisture is present.1U.S. Food and Drug Administration. FDA Food Code 2022 The Code doesn’t require specific materials, but quarry tile, sealed concrete, fiber-reinforced plastic panels, and stainless steel are common because they hold up to daily scrubbing and hot rinses. Flaking paint, exposed insulation, or porous tiles above open food will be cited.
Coving is where a lot of new operators trip. Floor-and-wall junctions must be coved and sealed to eliminate the 90-degree corner where grease, debris, and moisture collect.1U.S. Food and Drug Administration. FDA Food Code 2022 In areas cleaned without water flushing, the junction must be closed to no larger than one thirty-second of an inch. Where water flushing is used, floors also have to be graded to drain. Missing coving is one of the fastest ways to fail a plan review.
Sinks and Handwashing Stations
Sinks in a commercial kitchen are single-purpose by rule. Handwashing sinks are for handwashing only. Rinsing produce in one, or dumping mop water into one, is a violation because cross-use defeats the sink’s purpose.1U.S. Food and Drug Administration. FDA Food Code 2022 A separate three-compartment sink handles manual warewashing: wash, rinse, sanitize. Food prep sinks must be isolated from warewashing so raw ingredients never touch dirty dishwater.
Every handwashing station must be stocked with soap (liquid, powder, or bar), a drying method (disposable towels, a continuous towel system, or a heated-air dryer), and a visible sign reminding employees to wash their hands. Stations that use disposable towels need a waste receptacle nearby.2U.S. Food and Drug Administration. FDA Food Code 2022
One recent change is worth flagging because older reference material still gets it wrong. The 2022 FDA Food Code lowered the minimum hot water temperature at handwashing sinks from 100°F to 85°F (29.4°C).3U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Summary of Changes in the 2022 FDA Food Code Both hot and cold running water under pressure are still required.
Water supply inlets need air gaps to keep contaminated water out of food-contact surfaces. The gap between the inlet and the flood-level rim of the fixture must be at least twice the diameter of the inlet, and never less than one inch.1U.S. Food and Drug Administration. FDA Food Code 2022 Drainage lines from food equipment typically require indirect waste connections, though the specifics depend on local plumbing codes.
Temperature Control
Most foodborne illness starts with a temperature failure. The Food Code defines a Temperature Danger Zone of 41°F to 135°F, the range where harmful bacteria multiply fastest in foods that require time and temperature control for safety (TCS foods).4U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Cooling Cooked Time/Temperature Control for Safety Foods and the FDA Food Code
Cold TCS foods must be held at 41°F or below. Hot TCS foods must be held at 135°F or above.4U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Cooling Cooked Time/Temperature Control for Safety Foods and the FDA Food Code A single TCS item found out of temperature is a critical violation. Every refrigeration unit needs an accurate thermometer, and the Code sets a tolerance of ±3°F for Fahrenheit thermometers.1U.S. Food and Drug Administration. FDA Food Code 2022 A thermometer that drifts beyond that range should be recalibrated or replaced.
Cooling
Cooling is where kitchens run into the most trouble. Cooked TCS food must go from 135°F down to 70°F within two hours, then from 70°F to 41°F or below within a total of six hours.1U.S. Food and Drug Administration. FDA Food Code 2022 The first two hours are the critical window. If food hasn’t hit 70°F by then, the remaining four hours won’t save it. Large batches of soup, rice, or braised proteins need shallow pans, ice baths, or blast chillers. A stockpot dropped into a walk-in almost never cools fast enough.
Lighting and Ventilation
Prep surfaces and any station where employees use knives, slicers, or grinders need at least 50 foot-candles of light. Walk-in coolers and warewashing areas can operate at lower levels, typically 20 foot-candles.1U.S. Food and Drug Administration. FDA Food Code 2022
Every light fixture in a prep area must use shielded, coated, or otherwise shatter-resistant bulbs so that a broken bulb doesn’t send glass into food.1U.S. Food and Drug Administration. FDA Food Code 2022 It’s a cheap requirement that gets overlooked constantly.
Commercial exhaust hoods over cooking equipment must extract heat, steam, grease-laden vapor, and smoke. Inadequate ventilation allows grease and condensate to build up on floors, walls, and ceilings, which is both a contamination problem and a fire hazard.1U.S. Food and Drug Administration. FDA Food Code 2022 Hoods also need replacement air. Mechanical codes generally require makeup air roughly equal to what the exhaust is pulling out; without it, hoods lose efficiency and negative pressure makes doors hard to open.
Equipment and Storage
All commercial food equipment must meet sanitation standards recognized by the FDA. Equipment certified under NSF/ANSI standards is deemed to meet the Food Code’s equipment provisions.5U.S. Food and Drug Administration. List of American National Standards for Food Equipment Those standards cover both material safety, so chemicals don’t leach into food, and design, so equipment can actually be cleaned.6NSF. Food Equipment Certification
Floor-mounted equipment that isn’t easily movable has to be either sealed to the floor or elevated on legs with at least six inches of clearance. If every part of the floor beneath the equipment is within six inches of a cleaning access point, the clearance can drop to four inches.1U.S. Food and Drug Administration. FDA Food Code 2022 The point is access. Dead zones beneath heavy equipment are where pests nest undetected. The same logic applies to storage: keep food and supplies off the floor so cleaning and pest checks are possible underneath.
Employee Hygiene and Health
Facility design only carries a kitchen so far. Employees are the most common contamination vector, and the Code puts significant weight on their conduct.
Bare Hands and Hair
Employees may not touch exposed ready-to-eat food with bare hands. Utensils, deli tissue, tongs, single-use gloves, or dispensing equipment must be used instead. A limited exception exists where a regulatory authority has given prior written approval with specific procedures in place, but facilities serving highly susceptible populations (hospitals, nursing homes, daycare centers) can never use that exception. Employees must also wear effective hair restraints such as hats, hair nets, or beard restraints.1U.S. Food and Drug Administration. FDA Food Code 2022
Illness
Employees showing vomiting or diarrhea must be excluded from work, as must anyone diagnosed with Norovirus, Salmonella, Shigella, Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, hepatitis A, or typhoid fever.1U.S. Food and Drug Administration. FDA Food Code 2022 Asymptomatic employees who test positive for certain pathogens may face exclusion or restriction depending on the type of facility. Letting a symptomatic employee keep handling food is a priority violation and can trigger immediate enforcement.
Person in Charge
The Code requires a designated person in charge to be present during all operating hours, responsible for ensuring proper food safety practices, keeping unauthorized people out of prep areas, and preventing procedural lapses.1U.S. Food and Drug Administration. FDA Food Code 2022 Most jurisdictions require at least one person in charge per shift to hold a food protection manager certification from an accredited program. Certification and food handler training rules vary by jurisdiction, so check locally before opening.
Pest Control and Waste
Pest problems are usually structural. The Code requires all outer openings to be protected against insects and rodents: gaps in floors, walls, and ceilings filled; doors tight-fitting and self-closing; windows either closed or screened with 16-mesh screening.1U.S. Food and Drug Administration. FDA Food Code 2022 Air curtains are acceptable at doors that stay open for deliveries or business hours.
Insect control devices such as electric zappers must retain dead insects inside the device and be positioned so fragments cannot fall onto exposed food, clean equipment, or utensils.1U.S. Food and Drug Administration. FDA Food Code 2022 A zapper over a prep table creates the contamination it’s supposed to prevent.
Garbage and refuse storage must be sized to hold everything the operation generates and built for easy cleaning. Outdoor receptacles need tight-fitting lids to prevent scattering, fly breeding, and rodent entry, and refuse has to be removed often enough that residue doesn’t build up.1U.S. Food and Drug Administration. FDA Food Code 2022
Inspections and the Permit to Operate
Before a new establishment can serve the public, the operator has to pass a pre-operational inspection by the local health department. The inspector walks the facility to verify that layout, surfaces, plumbing, refrigeration, and ventilation meet code. Passing produces a permit, which must be displayed where customers can see it.
If the inspector finds problems, the report lists violations and a correction timeline. Violations sort into two categories:
- Critical violations directly raise the risk of foodborne illness. Examples include TCS food held at unsafe temperatures, bare-hand contact with ready-to-eat food, and evidence of pest infestation. These often require immediate correction and can force closure.
- Non-critical violations point to sanitation lapses without an immediate health threat: a missing refrigerator thermometer, absent handwashing signage, minor ventilation issues. These come with a correction deadline and a follow-up visit.
Re-inspection fees, permit fees, and fine amounts vary significantly by jurisdiction, and plan review fees for new construction can run from a few hundred to several thousand dollars depending on facility size and location. Operating without a valid permit can produce immediate closure and daily fines. None of these costs are standardized nationally, so start the budget conversation with the local health department during design, not after construction.
Inspections don’t end on opening day. Health departments conduct routine inspections throughout the life of the permit, and frequency often increases for facilities with a history of violations.