Food Protection Services

The Metro Public Health Department's Food Division provides protection from the threat of foodborne illnesses by conducting inspections among Davidson County's food service establishments (restaurants, snack bars, and school cafeterias) and retail food stores (groceries). During the fiscal year 2006/2007, over 13,000 inspections were conducted by the Health Department’s Food Protection staff.

The program conducts unannounced food inspections, at least twice each year, among more than 4,100 food establishments in the county. The program uses a FDA-approved standardized 44-point food service establishment inspection process.

The best food inspection score is 100 points. Any score of 69 and below is considered a failing score. Any establishment with a critical violation must be re-inspected within ten days. An establishment's food permit can be revoked if it has three consecutive scores below 70 points with the same critical violations on each of the three inspections.

Take the Safe at Home Plate Food Safety Quiz and view the food safety tutorial.

Weekly food inspection scores. Each Wednesday the Metro Health Department web site lists restaurants with the three lowest scores below 60 points, and the three highest scores 85 points and above.

The Restaurant Food Safety Awards are given to those food service establishments which consistently set, achieve, and maintain a higher standard regarding food safety awareness, training, and practices.

Click on the following link to view informative food safety posters. Posters available are:

Food temperature requirements (249 KB)
Hand washing (239 KB)
Good hygienic practices (223 KB)
Three compartment sink set-up procedure (394 KB)

Click on the following link to view the Tennessee Department of Health and Environment Law regulating all of food service establishments.
Click on the following link to view the Tennessee Department of Agriculture Law regulating all retail food stores.
To download our Food Service Establishment Inspection form, go to the Food Inspection Download page.
See our Food Safety page, our Food Safety in the Home page, our Cookout Safety page, and our  Food Protection Services page.