Health Department - Environmental Health

This website has been developed for you so that you may know more about the food service establishments in Cheyenne and Laramie County from the perspective of safe food handling, or "food safety." Food establishments that sell or serve food to the public must have a State of Wyoming Food License and be inspected by Cheyenne/Laramie County Health Department. These establishments include restaurants, bars, convenient stores, delis, grocery stores, bed and breakfasts and more.

There are over 500 licensed food service establishments in Cheyenne and Laramie County . The majority of these establishments have two unannounced inspections per year. Other establishments may receive more or fewer inspections based on a risk assessment done by the health department. Several educational opportunities are also offered to each food establishment through Going for the Gold and Serv-Safe Training Programs

The purpose of the inspections is to assure that the food is being handled properly from preparation through serving. Inspectors observe kitchen workers' food handling practices, assure equipment is working properly, take food temperatures, inspect refrigerators and storage areas, assure water temperatures, and correct level and use of sanitizers. Any problem found is written up as a violation and the manager is taught the correct procedure or method.

There are two types of violations recorded on the inspection report.

• "Red critical violations" are those food handling practices that, when not done properly, are most likely to lead to food borne illnesses. These food handling practices include:

• controlling temperature, such as cooking meats to the right temperature to kill food borne disease germs, keeping food hot enough until it is served, and keeping food cold enough
• cooling food properly, washing hands, and using utensils instead of bare hands on "ready to eat" food
• storing food
• serving practices
  
• "Black violations" are primarily maintenance and sanitation issues that are not likely to be the cause of a food borne illness.
  
  Whenever possible, violations found during the inspection are corrected immediately. Most red critical items found during the inspection must be corrected immediately. Examples would be re-heating a food to 165° F, putting it into the refrigerator or discarding the food. Others that require maintenance are given ten days to correct the problem with a follow-up inspection by the department.

This website offers additional information for you to consider as you decide where to purchase food in Cheyenne and Laramie County . These inspections reports have always been public records, but until now have not been convenient to review. This website is part of The Cheyenne and Laramie County Health Departments commitment to providing useful public information in a manner that is convenient to our citizens. For follow-up and/or complaint inspections please drop by our office at 100 Central Ave.

We hope that you will find this information helpful and easy to use. Please remember that on any given day, even a restaurant with few or no violations could have a failure in their food safety practices that could lead to a food borne illness.