The town adopts by reference the provisions of the food establishment rules (hereinafter, the “food establishment rules”) set forth in Title 25 of the Texas Administrative Code, Chapter 229, subchapter K (“Texas Food Establishments”), §§229.161–229.171, and §§229.173–229.175, as they exist on the effective date of this article and as they may be hereafter amended. All food establishments shall be operated in accordance with the requirements specified in the food establishment rules. The town shall be a regulatory authority as described in the food establishment rules. In the event that any provision of this article may conflict with any provision of the food establishment rules, the food establishment rules shall prevail.
(Ordinance 11-06 adopted 7/18/11)
The definitions contained in the food establishment rules, as they now exist and as they may later be amended, shall also apply to this article. In addition, as used in this article, the following terms shall have the respective meanings ascribed to them in this section unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
Critical Violation.
A critical item as defined on the Food Service Establishment Inspection Report distributed by the department of state health services with a demerit weight of four (4) or five (5) and requiring immediate attention.
Extensive Remodeling.
The remodeling or alteration of at least 20% of the floor area of a food establishment.
Food Establishment.
An operation or element of an operation that stores, prepares, packages, serves, vends, or otherwise provides food for human consumption as defined and described in 25 Texas Administrative Code, §229.162. The term food establishment shall not include civic, fraternal or charitable organizations that sell, prepare, serve or provide food for human consumption on an infrequent basis at events occurring not more than four (4) times per year.
Food Establishment Rules.
The rules pertaining to Texas Food Establishments, 25 Texas Administrative Code §§229.161–229.171, and 229.173–229.175, as amended.
Nonprofit Organization.
A civic or fraternal organization, charity, lodge, association, proprietorship, or corporation designated as non-profit under an Internal Revenue Code §501(c)(3) exemption, or religious organizations determined as exempt from ad valorem taxation by the Denton Central Appraisal District.
Person.
Any individual, partnership, corporation, association or other legal entity.
Person in Charge.
Has the meaning ascribed to that term in the food establishment rules.
Regulatory Authority.
The town and its designated health official. The term regulatory authority, as used in the food establishment rules, means the town and its designated health official.
Town.
The Town of Double Oak, Texas, acting by and through the mayor and/or the mayor’s designee.
Town Health Official.
The person(s) designated by the mayor to administer and enforce the provisions of this article.
(Ordinance 11-06 adopted 7/18/11)
(a) 
A person commits an offense if the person sells, offers to sell, gives away, trades or otherwise conveys food to the public or operates a food establishment within the town without having first obtained a permit issued by the town.
(b) 
A food establishment permit shall be posted and visible to the public in every food establishment. Permits are not transferable from one person to another or from one location to another except as otherwise permitted by this article.
(Ordinance 11-06 adopted 7/18/11)
(a) 
Applications for food establishment permits shall be made on forms provided by the town. The application shall include:
(1) 
The applicant’s full name and street address and whether such applicant is an individual, firm, corporation or partnership. If the applicant is a partnership, the names of the partners, together with their addresses shall be included;
(2) 
The location and type of proposed food establishment;
(3) 
The signature of the applicant or applicants, or agents;
(4) 
A copy of the valid driver’s license or other state identification card of the applicant or the applicant’s agent;
(5) 
A copy of a valid food protection manager’s certificate; and
(6) 
Such other information as the town health official deems necessary.
(b) 
An application for a food establishment permit for a mobile food establishment or a temporary food establishment shall include with the completed application a copy of the facility’s current, valid state and/or local health permit.
(c) 
Prior to approval of an application for a food establishment permit, the town health official shall review all available documentation for such establishment to insure that such facility complies with the food establishment rules and this article. An application for a permit shall be denied if any part of the application is improperly or erroneously completed, or if any part of the required documentation is not properly submitted.
(d) 
If a single building or establishment contains multiple, separate, distinct food operations, regardless of whether one or all of the operations are owned or operated by one or more individuals or entities, a separate food establishment permit and payment of a separate permit fee shall be required for each operation.
(e) 
A food establishment permit shall remain in force for one year from the date of issuance unless suspended or revoked as provided herein. A permit fee shall be imposed in accordance with the town’s fee schedule; provided, however, that should the town employ an outside person or organization to conduct inspections, the fee assessed to a food establishment owned and/or operated by a governmental agency, independent school district, institution of purely public charity, or a church and/or other non-profit organization shall be the actual cost to the town of the inspection without inclusion of administrative charges. Documentation of tax-exempt status of a non-profit organization must be provided to the town at the time of application in order to be exempt from payment of the permit fee.
(Ordinance 11-06 adopted 7/18/11)
(a) 
Frequency of Inspections.
An inspection of a food establishment shall be performed at least once every six (6) months. Additional inspections of the food establishment shall be performed as often as necessary for the enforcement of the food establishment rules, this article, or other applicable law. An inspection fee shall be charged in accordance with the town’s fee schedule, as adopted by the town and as amended from time to time.
(b) 
Right of Entry.
It shall be an offense for any person to fail to grant or to refuse entry to a building, facility or any part thereof, or to fail to produce books and records for inspection, by the town and/or the town health official for the purposes of conducting any inspection of a food establishment. Failure to grant entry shall be cause for the suspension or revocation of a permit.
(c) 
Inspections and Reports.
(1) 
Upon inspection of a food establishment, the town health official shall record the findings on an inspection report form. The inspection report form shall set forth a weighted point value for each requirement. Inspectional remarks shall be written to reference, by section number, the section violated and shall state the correction to be made. The rating score of the establishment shall be the total of the weighted point values for all violations, subtracted from one hundred (100). A full follow-up inspection shall be conducted if the inspection of the establishment results in a rated score of less than seventy (70). A copy of the inspection report form shall be furnished to the person in charge of the food establishment at the conclusion of the inspection. The completed inspection report form is public information that shall be made available for public disclosure.
(2) 
If a follow-up inspection of a food establishment is required by the town to verify correction of a violation, a re-inspection fee as specified in the town’s fee schedule shall be paid to the town within seventy-two (72) hours of the re-inspection.
(3) 
If an inspection of a food establishment reveals serious multiple violations in food safety or overall level of sanitation as identified in the inspection report, a full re-inspection will be conducted of the establishment to verify correction of the existing condition. In such cases, a fee of 50% of the food establishment’s annual permit fee shall be submitted to the town along with a signed letter, stating that each identified violation is corrected, and the method of correction, prior to the scheduled date of re-inspection.
(4) 
Failure to pay the required re-inspection fee(s) or to timely remedy any violations shall result in the immediate suspension of the food establishment’s permit, and the establishment shall be ordered to cease operation immediately. The food establishment shall remain closed until the violation(s) are corrected, all required fees are paid, and a re-inspection is conducted to verify that the violations are corrected.
(d) 
Correction of Violations.
Inspection reports shall specify a reasonable period of time for the correction of the violations found, and correction of the violations shall be accomplished within the period specified in accordance with the following provisions:
(1) 
If an imminent health hazard exists such as complete lack of refrigeration or sewage backup into the food establishment, the establishment shall immediately cease food service operations. Operations shall not be resumed until all violations are corrected and operations are authorized by the town.
(2) 
All violations of four (4) or five (5) point weighted items shall be corrected as soon as possible, but in any event, within ten (10) days following inspection. Within such period, the holder of the permit shall submit a written report to the town stating that the noted violations have been corrected. A follow-up inspection shall be conducted to confirm correction.
(3) 
All one (1) or two (2) point weighted items shall be corrected as soon as possible, but in any event not later than ninety (90) calendar days after the inspection.
(4) 
When the rating score of the food establishment is less than seventy (70), the establishment shall initiate corrective action on all identified violations within forty-eight (48) hours. One or more re-inspections will be conducted at reasonable time intervals to assure correction.
(e) 
Closure.
Whenever a food establishment is required under the provisions of this article to cease operations, it shall not resume operations until such time as a re-inspection determines that the conditions responsible for the requirement to cease operations no longer exist.
(Ordinance 11-06 adopted 7/18/11)
(a) 
A permit may be suspended for a violation of this article or the food establishment rules. The town health official shall notify the permit holder, operator, or person in charge of the food establishment that the permit is, upon service of written notice, immediately suspended and that an opportunity for a hearing will be provided if the permit holder submits a written request for a hearing within five (5) days. The hearing shall be held in accordance with this article. Notwithstanding the other provisions of this article, whenever the town finds unsanitary or other conditions in the operation of a food establishment that constitute a substantial hazard to the public health, a written notice may be issued to the permit holder, operator, or person in charge citing such condition, specifying the corrective action to be taken, and specifying the time period within which such action shall be taken. If necessary, the order may state that the permit is immediately suspended and all food operations are to be immediately discontinued.
(b) 
If a permit is suspended, a sign stating “Closed by Order of the Town of Double Oak Health Official” shall be placed on the entrance to the food establishment in plain view. A person commits an offense if the person removes, covers, alters or defaces such sign or otherwise makes or causes such sign to be unreadable.
(c) 
A food establishment permit holder may, at any time, make written application for a re-inspection for the purpose of reinstating a suspended permit. The application shall include a statement signed by the applicant stating the conditions causing suspension of the permit have been corrected and explaining how they have been corrected. The town health official shall re-inspect the facility and if the establishment is found to be in compliance with the requirements of this article, the permit shall be reinstated upon payment of a reinstatement fee established by the town’s fee schedule.
(Ordinance 11-06 adopted 7/18/11)
(a) 
The town health official may revoke a food establishment permit if the permit holder has received two (2) written notices for critical violations, for repeated violations of any of the requirements of this article, or for interference with the town health official in the performance of his or her duties.
(b) 
Prior to the revocation of a permit, the town health official shall notify the permit holder in writing, stating the reasons for which the permit is subject to revocation and advising that the permit shall be permanently revoked at the end of five (5) days following service of such notice. The permit shall be revoked and is void on the expiration of five (5) calendar days from the issuance and service of the notice of revocation unless the permit holder files a written request for an appeal with the town within the five-day period, which shall state the reasons the revocation is not authorized. A permit may be suspended pending its revocation, or a hearing relative thereto, if the conditions giving rise to the revocation pose a threat to public health.
(Ordinance 11-06 adopted 7/18/11)
The determination by the regulatory authority that a food establishment permit be denied, suspended or revoked, may be appealed to the town council. The applicant or permit holder shall timely submit a notice of appeal stating the grounds of the appeal. An appeal may only be based on: (1) an allegation that the town health official’s determination of violations was incorrect; or (2) an allegation that the suspension or revocation was unjust, or both. A hearing shall be scheduled as soon as practical, with notice to interested parties. The formal rules of evidence do not apply at an appeal hearing. The council shall make a decision by simple majority vote on the basis of a preponderance of the evidence presented at the hearing. The town council may, upon hearing, affirm, reverse or modify the determination of the regulatory authority. The town council’s decision shall be final and binding.
(Ordinance 11-06 adopted 7/18/11)