A plan review is a formal assessment of your architectural plans, equipment specifications, and operational policies to ensure they comply with local health department regulations. It is essential for new construction or major remodeling to prevent "nightmare" scenarios where you are forced to move plumbing or tear down walls after construction has already begun.

Ideally, we should be involved before you make any costly purchases, installations, or start construction. By getting us in from the ground up, we can identify potential compliance issues in your architectural drawings and equipment lists, saving you thousands in potential reconstruction costs.

Our comprehensive reviews examine:
• Architectural Plans: Ensuring layout and flow meet food code standards.
• Equipment Specifications: Verifying that all food service equipment is properly rated and positioned.
• Menus: Checking that your menu aligns with your facility's capacity and equipment capabilities.
• Sanitation Policies: Reviewing SOPs to ensure they meet health department requirements.

Yes. We are often hired by establishments that realize late in the process that they were required to submit a plan review to their health department. While it is more expensive to fix errors after they are built, we can work with your existing plans to bring them into compliance and help mitigate "nightmare" health department findings.

In many towns and cities, regulatory agencies now require that plan reviews be signed by a CP-FS (Certified Professional in Food Safety) or an RS (Registered Sanitarian) before they will even begin their own review. Berger Food Safety provides these authorized signatures to expedite your approval process.

Beyond just reviewing the technical accuracy of your plans, we act as your Health Department Liaison. We can represent you throughout the entire process, working directly with health inspectors to address concerns and ensure your project moves quickly forward toward its permit.

Skipping this step often leads to "costly and timely mistakes." For example, a health department might find that a sink is improperly placed or a wall is non-compliant after it has been finished. Redoing these elements is typically twice as expensive as doing them correctly the first time. It is possible they would suspend your permit until the review is completed.

Yes. Whether you are in Miami, LA, Seattle, Boston, New York, Chicago, Las Vegas, Austin, New Orleans, or anywhere in between, we understand the nuances of local food codes and the specific requirements of health departments across the country to get your plans approved.