Food Facilities and Operations

Award of Excellence Listing for Food Facility Inspections

Beginning January 1, 2012 San Luis Obispo County Environmental Health Services started issuing an "Award of Excellence" for retail food facilities which had outstanding health inspection results. This service is to allow the public to recognize those Food Facilities operating within San Luis Obispo County which received the award.

Catering Operations Health Permitting

This service allows you to apply for or renew a permit to conduct a Catering Operation within San Luis Obispo County.

Catering Operation means a food service or limited food preparation conducted at a site other than the permitted shared food facility, aka off-site food service activities.  Catering operations may occur by either of the two circumstances:

  1. As part of a contracted off-site food service event.
  2. Direct-to-consumer sales, if operating in conjunction with a Host facility for no more than 4 hours in any 12-hour period, unless additional hours are otherwise approved by this agency.

A catering operation does not include food ordered as takeout, delivery for consumer self-service, food service at a community event, or food prepared or served at a private event.

  • If your planned catering operation will be conducted from a permanent kitchen from which you lease or rent space to perform your food preparation activities, you are a Dependent Food Service Operator. Click here to view information on Dependent Food Service Operator permitting.
  • If your planned catering operation will be conducted from a permanent kitchen for which you will be the permit holder, follow the process detailed below.

Catering Operations Inspection

This service allows you to request an inspection of your Catering Operation conducted within San Luis Obispo County.

Commissary and Shared Permanent Food Facility Information

The Environmental Health Services Division (EHS) recognizes that there is a growing demand by Dependent Food Service Operators to have access to the County’s local permanent food facilities to prepare their food products. EHS’s goal is to make the sharing of food facilities by multiple businesses work smoothly, while ensuring that safe food handling practices are in place to protect the public’s health.

What is a Shared Permanent Food Facility (SPFF)?

A shared permanent food facility may be a permitted Commissary or other approved permitted permanent Retail Food Facility, such as a Restaurant, Retail Market, or Catering Operation Facility, wherein the permit holder leases or rents kitchen facilities to dependent food service operators. The SPFF must possess the adequate space and equipment necessary for the safe operation of the dependent food service operation utilizing it's services.

  • A dependent food service operator is any person or business who engages in a lease or rental agreement with the permit holder of a permitted permanent food establishment, or Shared Permanent Food Facility (SPFF), to use the SPFF to perform food production and/or food service operations to supply food and related services to the general public. They may be a mobile food facility operator, a temporary food facility (food booth) operator, may provide direct sales of food products at the leased or rented permitted food establishment or host facility, or may prepare for off-site catering operations.
  • ​​Commissaries are intentionally designed to be used by mobile food facilities such that the operational requirements of the mobile food facility can be accomplished. This permanent food facility operator will possess our commissary permit.
  • Other approved Retail Permanent Food Facilities are not commissaries but are approved to share kitchen facilities. These may be approved to service some mobile food facilities, however approval is not guaranteed.

SPFFs are evaluated for their amenities and categorized into four tier classifications. These classifications determine the level of accommodation the facility can provide to various types of dependent food service operations. Click here to view the tier classification criteria.

Community Event and Swap Meet Organizer Health Permitting

This service allows you to apply for a permit to conduct a Community Event, Swap Meet Event, or Farmers' Market including food service to the general public within San Luis Obispo County.

Cottage Food Operation Annual Self-Certification Review

This service allows you to submit your annual Cottage Food Operation Class A Registration Annual Self-Certification documents.

A Cottage Food Operation is an enterprise at a private home where specific low-risk food products that do not require refrigeration are made or repackaged for sale to consumers.

Cottage Food Operation Class B Inspection

Request an inspection of your home located within San Luis Obispo County where Cottage Food Operation Class B operations are performed.

A Cottage Food Operation is an enterprise at a private home where specific low-risk food products that do not require refrigeration are made or prepackaged for sale to consumers.

Cottage Food Operation Registration or Permitting

This service allows you to apply for or renew a Cottage Food Operation Class A Registration (direct sales) or Class B Permit (indirect sales) occurring within San Luis Obispo County.

A Cottage Food Operation is an enterprise at a private home where specific low-risk food products that do not require refrigeration are made or repackaged for sale to consumers.

Dependent Food Service Operations Health Permitting

A Dependent Food Service Operator is any person or business who engages in a lease or rental agreement with the permit holder of a permitted permanent food establishment, or Shared Permanent Food Facility (SPFF), to use the SPFF to perform food production and/or food service operations to supply food and related services to the general public.

If you do not have a permanent retail food facility under permit with this Department and you wish to utilize one that another person holds the permit for to be approved to perform your food production or food service operations, then you are a dependent food service operator.

The Environmental Health Services Division (EHS) recognizes that there is a growing demand by dependent food operators to have access to the County’s local permanent food facilities to prepare their food products. EHS’s goal is to make the sharing of food facilities by multiple businesses work smoothly, while ensuring that safe food handling practices are in place to protect the public’s health.

This service allows you to apply for or renew a permit to conduct a Dependent Food Service Operation within San Luis Obispo County.

Dependent Food Service Operations Inspection

This service allows you to request an inspection of your Dependent Food Service Operation conducted within San Luis Obispo County.

Food Facility Construction Permitting

This service allows you to apply for a permit to construct or modify a food facility located within San Luis Obispo County.

Please note, additional permitting may be required by the local city or county jurisdiction Planning and Building Department.

Food Facility Health Permitting

This service allows you to apply for or renew a permit to operate a food facility located within San Luis Obispo County.

Food Facility Inspection

This service allows you to request an inspection of your regulated food facility located within San Luis Obispo County.

Please visit EatSafeSLO for the mapped locations of actively permitted retail food facilities along with inspection reports.

Food Facility Inspection Results

EatSafeSLO provides the locations of permitted retail food facilities and links to health inspection results. 

EatSafeSLO will reflect a new scoring method in early to mid 2025 that uses a negative scoring scale at which point a perfect score will be zero and violations will lead to a negative number score. 

Search Inspection Database
 

Food Program Frequently Asked Questions

This service provides answers to common questions regarding food preparation and food facility operation.

Host Facility Health Permitting

What is a Host Facility? A Host Facility is a facility located in a brewery, winery, commercial building, or other location approved by Environmental Health Services (EHS) that meets specified infrastructure and operational requirements. The location cannot be the same premises as those set aside for wine or beer tasting.

This service allows you to apply for or renew a permit to operate a Host Facility within San Luis Obispo County. This permit allows for expanded food options by hosting a catering operation who may sell food directly to the consumer at this approved site for no more than 4 hours in any 12-hour period, unless additional hours are otherwise approved by this agency. A Host Facility Permit is not required for sites that only utilize catering for private events or that only host approved/permitted mobile food facilities (food trucks, food carts, etc.).

Host Facility Inspection

This service allows you to request an inspection of your Host Facility operated within San Luis Obispo County.

Mobile Food Facility Consultation and Construction Permitting

This service allows you to apply for a consultation or a permit to construct or modify a Compact Mobile Food Facility Operation (CMFO) or Mobile Food Facility (MFF) Preparation Unit to be operated within San Luis Obispo County.

A health permit to operate a CMFO or MFF will not be issued unless all construction and operational requirements are met.

If you have completed a construction plan check for your CMFO or MFF and/or have received direction from this Agency to proceed with health permitting, please visit the Mobile Food Facility permitting page:

Consultation and/or Construction Plan Check applications are required for all CMFOs and MFFs and are within these categories:

  • Full construction plan check required for:
    • New construction of CMFOs or MFFs.
    • Remodeled or modified CMFOs or MFFs. 
    • CMFOs or MFFs previously permitted where the health permit to operate expired 2 or more years ago.
  • A 2-hour consultation* is required for:
    • CMFOs or MFFs previously permitted in another jurisdiction within the last 2 years.
    • Ownership changes of CMFOs or MFFs operated within San Luis Obispo County within the last 2 years where a significant menu change or change in operation will occur.

*The purpose of the 2hour consultation is to determine if the CMFO or MFF can move forward with the permitting process or if additional information is required for approval. Please note that a full construction plan check may be required.

Please note a Housing and Community Development (HCD) certification is required for all occupiable MFFs, including those previously certified that have been modified or remodeled since the last certification date.

A prospective new owner is encouraged to contact our Agency with questions prior to purchasing or constructing any Mobile Food Facility. Additional consultation or construction plan check requirements will be determined during that time.

Please note, it is unlawful to build a CMFO or MFF without prior written approval from this office.

Mobile Food Facility Health Permitting

This service allows you to apply for or renew a permit to operate a Compact Mobile Food Operation (CMFO) or Mobile Food facility Preparation Unit (MFF) within San Luis Obispo County.

Mobile Food Facility Inspection

This service allows you to request an inspection of your permitted Mobile Food facility operated within San Luis Obispo County.

 

Please note, operation of a mobile food facility without a valid health permit or without a valid health permit sticker affixed to the mobile food facility is a misdemeanor and may be punishable by a fine of not less than twenty-five dollars ($25) or more than one thousand dollars ($1,000).

Swap Meet Food Facility Health Permitting

This service allows you to apply for or renew a permit to operate a Swap Meet booth with food service within San Luis Obispo County.

Temporary Food Facility Health Permitting

This service allows you to apply for or renew a permit to operate a Temporary Food Facility within San Luis Obispo County.