Health code variance: What it is and why you might need one

I often receive questions from students and operators about various production practices within their operations and if a variance is required, and if so, how it is obtained. A variance is a misunderstood aspect of the food code, so I thought I might discuss a bit about them in the first blog this month.

A variance grants you permission to operate your food establishment in such a way that it modifies or waives a requirement of the food code.  A variance is issued by the health authority in your jurisdiction; this could be the state agency responsible for health inspections. In my town and county in Kansas, it is handled by the Kansas Department of Agriculture. However, if your inspections are handled at the county or city-level, it is likely that level to which you would apply for a variance. The variance will provide you with a written document that authorizes your establishment to operate in a way that is contradictory to what may be stated in the food code.  The food code outlines certain conditions under which variances are required.  These include:

  • Smoking food as a method of food preservation rather than as a method of flavor enhancement
  • Curing food
  • Using food additives or adding components such as vinegar to preserve/render non-time/temperature control for safety food.
  • Packaging time/temperature control for safety food using Reduced Oxygen Packaging methods, except where the growth of Clostridium botulinum and Listeria Monocytogenes are controlled.
  • Operating a molluscan shellfish life-support system display tank used to store and display shellfish that are offered for human consumption.
  • Custom processing animals that are for personal use as food and not for sale or service in a food establishment.
  • Preparing food by another method that is determined by the regulatory authority to require a variance
  • Sprouting seeds (such as alfalfa or wheat grass) or beans in a retail food establishment

The variance will provide you with a written document that authorizes your establishment to operate in a way that is contradictory to what may be stated in the food code. 

Requirements on submitting a variance application to your health authority will vary by jurisdiction, so it is important to visit with your health inspector, who can walk you through the process. Often, for a variance to be issued, it will require you to develop a HACCP plan for the process for which you are seeking a variance. In the end, the health department wants to know how you are going to keep food safety and protect public health.  Thus, developing your variance application can be quite technical.  While some operators have the food safety knowledge to complete the application on their own, I would encourage you to visit with a food safety consultant, a university extension professional, or a food science professor who can provide assistance with the technical aspects of the application and can ensure that your HACCP plan will provide the necessary preventative measures to ensure the safety of food served.

The application process for a variance can be costly, but without it your operation could be fined or face closure for failing to operate in accordance with the health code, so the decision to apply for a variance is an important one for you to consider.

Please be sure to check out our first Safe Bites Webinar of 2022, Getting the Word Out: Communicating Your Organization’s Food Safety Practices, presented by Dr. Catherine Strohbehn. Unlike previous years, we are going to change things up a bit and the webinars will be offered on-demand. They are still approved by the Certifying Board for Dietary Managers for Continuing Education and the School Nutrition Association and you will still be able to submit any questions you have for follow-up! The webinar should be available to watch mid-month. Risk Nothing.

Flour Safety: Don’t Let E. coli become the Secret Ingredient in your Cake.

Earlier this month, we started to see information coming out about a foodborne illness outbreak from an unlikely source – flour. As of early-April, 12 people had fallen ill, and three people had been hospitalized as a result of flour contaminated with Salmonella. While the outbreak is still in its early stages, no individuals have died because of their illness. A specific source has not yet been identified in the outbreak, but all who have fallen ill have reported eating raw batter or dough due before developing symptoms – and flour has been identified as the only common ingredient in these batters and doughs.

Be Proactive and Don’t End Up in Food Safety Jail!

Ok, I admit – there really is no food safety jail. But there is jail and, while it is uncommon, you can be sent there for not practicing food safety. Just the other day, I ran across a news report about two individuals in Wales who were sent to jail (albeit a suspended sentence) for “failing to take action to protect food from the risk of contamination; placing unsafe food on the market; failing to comply with a Remedial Action Notice and operating the business without approval after permission to supply seafood was suspended.”

30 Years Later: The Foodborne Illness Outbreak that Changed Food Safety

In January, we hit a major anniversary.  One I am betting snuck by many of you – including me! January marked 30 years since the deadly 1993 E. coli O157:H7 outbreak at Jack in the Box restaurants on the west coast. The anniversary wasn’t on any of the major news networks that I recall. It did make it into a few newspapers, at least one or two of the newspapers that are left.  It wasn’t until late-February that I realized it.