The food safety inspection: how it works — and what the inspector wants to see

Who is at the door — and why unannounced

The official food safety authority (Lebensmittelüberwachung) is in charge — depending on the region it sits with the district's veterinary and food inspection office. Inspectors work on the basis of EU food law (above all the hygiene regulation (EC) 852/2004) and the German LFGB — the same rules your own self-monitoring duty comes from.

Inspections are unannounced as a matter of principle. That is not harassment, it is the whole point: what gets checked is the normal state, not the dress rehearsal. How often you are inspected depends on your risk classification — assigned after the first visit, based on the type of business, the products and past results. Clean work and complete documentation mean fewer visits; problems mean more.

A new business is on the list automatically: registering with the food safety authority (mandatory before opening) puts you into the system, and the first inspection usually comes within the first months.

How the inspection unfolds

The inspector may enter the premises during business hours and must show an ID. What follows is almost always the same choreography: a walk-through of kitchen, storage and dishwashing area, with questions to whoever is present — who measured the temperatures today, where is the cleaning log, who handles incoming goods?

Depending on the situation there are measurements and samples: core temperatures in fridges and hot holding, frying oil quality, swab samples from surfaces, food samples taken away. Photos of deficiencies are standard practice.

At the end comes the inspection report: the inspector discusses the findings, you may read it, add remarks and receive a copy. Your signature normally confirms that you have taken note — it is not a confession. If you disagree with a finding, say so calmly and have it recorded.

What gets checked on site

The visible part of the inspection follows the risks of food law — the focus is on:

• Temperatures: fridges and freezers (typically max. 7 °C chilled, -18 °C frozen), hot holding, core temperatures when cooking.
• Structural condition and cleanliness: surfaces, floors, extractor hoods, dishwashing area, grease trap — including the corners nobody sees in daily business.
• Personal hygiene: hand-wash basins with soap and disposable towels, work clothing, separate storage of private items.
• Separation and labelling of goods: raw/cooked separated, covered, best-before and use-by dates under control, traceability of goods (delivery notes).
• Pest prevention: monitoring points, condition of doors and windows, storage order.
• Allergen information: can the staff name the allergens for every dish — and is there a written basis for it?

The documents requested practically every time

The second — and often decisive — part is the self-monitoring documentation. The hygiene regulation does not only require you to work cleanly, it requires you to prove it. These records belong within reach on the premises:

• Temperature logs for every fridge and freezer — without gaps, with date and initials.
• Cleaning schedules with sign-off: who cleaned what and when.
• Incoming goods checks: deliveries inspected and documented (temperature, condition, dates).
• HACCP concept with the critical points of your business — and the matching records.
• Instructions under §43 of the Infection Protection Act (IfSG): the initial certificate before the first day of work plus the documented refresher every two years — for everyone, including casual helpers.
• Hygiene training of the staff (LMHV) with participants and dates.
• Allergen documentation for every dish on the menu.
• Pest monitoring records; if outsourced, the service provider's reports.

The complaints that keep repeating

Reading inspection reports rarely reveals spectacular scandals — mostly the same everyday gaps:

• Gaps in the temperature logs — two weeks kept properly, then three days of nothing, then proper again. To the inspector this means: self-monitoring is not reliable.
• Backfilled documentation — identical handwriting, identical pen, twenty identical values. It stands out, and it puts the entire documentation in doubt.
• Missing refresher instructions — the initial IfSG certificate exists, the two-year refresher was forgotten or never documented.
• Allergens only in the chef's head — the staff cannot answer, a written basis is missing.
• Expired goods in storage — even if they were “only meant for the staff”.
• A cleaning schedule that exists but is never signed off — a plan without proof is worth little more than no plan.

What happens after the inspection

Minor findings remain remarks in the report, often with a deadline to fix them. Then comes the part many underestimate: the follow-up inspection. It verifies that the deficiencies are gone — and in most federal states it is subject to a fee. Sloppy documentation means paying for the second visit out of your own pocket.

Heavier or repeated violations are administrative offences with fines; depending on the case, skimming of economic benefits or — in cases of deception — criminal proceedings are possible. In case of acute danger to health the authority can act immediately: shut down individual areas, block goods, and in extreme cases close the business temporarily.

Add the reputational damage: depending on the federal state and the case, results may have to be published (for instance for substantial violations under §40 LFGB), and local press likes reading inspection reports. The cheapest way through all of this is the same as always: documentation that is simply correct.

How to behave during the inspection

Calm, cooperative, honest — that is the whole art. Ask to see the ID card, accompany the walk-through, answer questions factually and do not invent anything: inspectors recognise improvised answers, and an honest gap (“I will add this today and get back to you”) looks more professional than an invented number.

Your rights: you may read the report in full, have your own remarks recorded and request a copy. Against official orders that follow from the inspection, the normal legal remedies are open — there is time for that after the inspection, not during it.

And one practical point that decides the impression: the team must know where everything is. An inspection often meets the morning shift, not the owner. If the part-timer can show the temperature logs and the allergen overview within twenty seconds, the most important impression is already made.

Inspection-ready every day: the checklist

Preparing for the inspection is not a project, it is a routine. If these points hold permanently, the unannounced visit loses its horror:

• Temperature logs current today — not just up to last week.
• Cleaning schedule posted AND signed off.
• Incoming goods of the latest deliveries documented, delivery notes findable.
• IfSG instructions current for EVERYONE on the team, refreshers scheduled.
• Allergen overview matches the current menu — and the staff knows where it is.
• Date checks in storage as a fixed routine, expired goods consistently out.
• Hand-wash stations complete: soap, disposable towels, freely accessible.
• Pest monitoring documented, anomalies noted with the action taken.
• The team knows: ask for the ID, accompany the walk-through, be able to show the records.