TenorOpsFood Safety
Manitoba Restaurant Inspection Readiness Check
A free inspection self-check for Manitoba restaurants, covering provincial rules and Winnipeg's food handler by-law, with an instant score out of 100.
Which rules apply depends on where you are
Most of what a Manitoba inspector checks comes from one provincial regulation, the Food and Food Handling Establishments Regulation under The Public Health Act. It covers registration and permits, storage, temperatures, cleaning, pests and personal hygiene, and it applies across the province.
Food handler certification is the exception. The provincial regulation doesn't require it, but Winnipeg does, through the City's Food Service By-law. The province's page for the Certified Food Handler Training Program sets out what the by-law asks for:
- No one may operate a food service establishment unless the person in charge has completed the Certified Food Handler Training Program.
- An establishment with fewer than five food handlers must have someone on staff who has completed it.
- An establishment with more than five food handlers working at one time must have someone who has completed it on duty at all times.
If your kitchen is in Brandon, Steinbach or Thompson, the by-law doesn't apply to you, though nothing stops you following it. If you're in Winnipeg, the third rule is the one that catches people out. It's about who is on duty, not who is on the payroll.
The Manitoba inspection readiness check asks the Winnipeg question with an answer for kitchens outside the city, so nobody loses points for a rule that doesn't cover them.
Permits, and the March 31 date
Before you open, the regulation requires you to register the establishment with the province. You can't operate without a valid permit issued by the director or a public health inspector. Public health inspectors then inspect food establishments routinely, and also when someone complains.
For food service establishments and mobile food units, the permit expires on March 31 every year. The regulation also requires the operator to post it in a conspicuous location inside the establishment. Both of those are in the check. An expired permit or one sitting in a drawer is easy to fix, but only once someone notices.
How ready is your kitchen? Score it against Manitoba's rules in about three minutes. Take the free check →
A number worth knowing: 5°C
Manitoba's cold-holding limit is 5°C, not the 4°C used in neighbouring Saskatchewan and many other provinces. Section 13 of the regulation requires potentially hazardous food to be kept at an internal temperature no higher than 5°C or no lower than 60°C, except while it's being prepared, unless a public health inspector permits otherwise. Potentially hazardous frozen food must stay frozen.
The printable temperature log that comes with the report flags fridge readings above 4°C. That's stricter than Manitoba requires, and it gives you some warning before a cooler that's drifting reaches the legal limit. Our Canadian food temperature guide covers how to probe and record readings properly.
What the check asks
There are eleven questions. Two are Manitoba-specific: the Winnipeg certification rule and your permit. The other nine cover what inspectors look at everywhere:
- temperature records for fridges, freezers and hot holding
- cooling cooked food in bulk
- handwashing sinks
- staff illness
- sanitizer and dishwasher testing
- a signed-off cleaning schedule
- storage and labelling
- allergen information
- pests
On staff health, the regulation doesn't leave much room. Someone who has a communicable disease, or carries the organisms that cause one, must not work in a food handling establishment in any role where food or food contact surfaces are likely to be contaminated. The check asks whether your staff know to report symptoms before a shift, because that's how the rule gets followed on a busy night.
Each answer earns full, half or no credit. Questions that matter more for food safety are worth more.
On screen, then in your inbox
You see a score out of 100 as soon as you answer the last question, along with your top gaps and why each matters to an inspector.
For the rest, enter your email. The report goes through every gap, with a plan to fix each one and links to printable checklists. You can print them, or open them in a free TenorOps account.
The score is a self-assessment. It doesn't show that you comply with the regulation or the by-law, and your inspector's report is still the only official word on your kitchen.
For the detail behind each part of the regulation, read our Manitoba restaurant food safety checklist. Then take the Manitoba check. If you also run locations in other provinces, the Canada inspection readiness check links to every one.