Florida's Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) inspects every licensed food-service operator. Refrigeration is one of the most commonly cited categories. Here's how to prevent the three most costly violations.
The most common refrigeration violation in Florida. Often triggered by probe-in-product checks during inspection. Prevention: set walk-ins 34–36°F, continuously log temps, and fix door gaskets immediately when they fail.
Manual temp sheets with gaps, missing signatures, or obvious back-filling are a red flag. Continuous logging via IoT sensors eliminates this category entirely.
Visible water dripping inside a walk-in, frozen evaporator coil, or water pooling on the floor. Usually a cheap fix caught during PM — expensive if it's an emergency order.
244 DBPR emergency orders were issued in the Tampa Bay region in recent tracking. Refrigeration failure is one of the top triggers. An emergency order means closure until remediation — revenue loss measured in days, not hours.
Coolers, freezers, prep tables, reach-ins — what the Florida food code actually requires vs. what's safe vs. what's ideal.
The seven most common failures behind a walk-in that can't maintain setpoint — and the two you can check before calling a tech.
Quarterly, monthly, and daily tasks — who does each, and how to document them for DBPR.