Florida K-12 school food authorities are permitted by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services under FAC Chapter 5K-4. The food safety reference is the FDA Food Code, adopted by reference. Districts that understand the permit, the inspection cadence, and the cold-holding expectations rarely get cited on refrigeration.
FDACS Division of Food Safety permits and inspects K-12 school food service in Florida. University contract foodservice operations (Aramark, Sodexo, Chartwells, Compass at USF, UT, etc.) are typically permitted under DBPR Division of Hotels and Restaurants Chapter 61C-4 because the operator is a commercial restaurant operator.
When a single facility has both — a university with a K-12 charter cafeteria, for example — the regulatory line follows the operator's permit, not the facility.
FAC 5K-4.020 permits food service in public schools. The annual permit covers the kitchen, satellite serving lines, and storage. Permit fees are modest; the audit weight is on inspection.
Permits are tied to the school food authority (typically the district's nutrition services department), not the individual school.
FDA Food Code 3-501.16: TCS food at 41 F or below for cold holding. 3-501.14: cooked-product cooling at 135 F to 70 F in 2 hours, 70 F to 41 F in 4 more hours. 3-403.11: rapid reheat to 165 F.
Florida adopted the 2017 Code with the 2022 supplement effective in 2023. The 41 F cold-holding number is non-negotiable.
FDACS routine inspections at K-12 cafeterias typically run annually with risk-based follow-up. Repeat findings escalate frequency.
Refrigeration-related findings on Tampa Bay K-12: cold-holding above 41 F (most common), missing or illegible records, ice-machine sanitation, dish-room ventilation/condensation. Equipment-condition findings (gasket damage, condenser fouling) typically generate citations rather than emergency orders unless the equipment is actively failing.
Walk-in record current, calibrated probe in the kitchen, gaskets intact, condenser clean, dish-room dry, ice machine sanitized within the documented schedule. The inspector reads the operation in 90 seconds.
DBPR Chapter 61C-4 inspects restaurants, including university contract foodservice. The same FDA Food Code applies. The forms are different and the regulator is different. A facilities team running a mixed fleet (K-12 plus university contract) needs two records systems aligned to one technical standard.
Hillsborough County Public Schools, Pinellas County Schools, and Pasco County Schools collectively run hundreds of FDACS-permitted cafeterias. District nutrition services departments manage the permits and the records.
Suncoast Cold Systems supports districts with refrigeration service contracts that include continuous monitoring, scheduled PM, and audit-ready records.
FDACS under FAC 5K-4 in almost all cases. University contract foodservice is typically DBPR under Chapter 61C-4 because the operator is a commercial restaurant.
41 F or below per FDA Food Code 3-501.16, adopted by FDACS 5K-4. The previous 45 F threshold was retired with the 2017 Code adoption.
Routine inspections are annual with risk-based follow-up. Repeat findings escalate frequency and may trigger administrative action.
Suncoast Cold Systems handles exactly this kind of commercial refrigeration issue across Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Brandon, Riverview, Temple Terrace, and Wesley Chapel. 24/7 dispatch. Licensed Class A A/C Contractor (FL #CAC1825329), EPA 608 Universal, OSHA 30 Construction.
What 7 CFR 210 actually expects from your refrigeration records.
Where the regulatory line falls for university contract operators.
Six causes ranked when the cafeteria walk-in drifts above 41 F.