Written up on a temperature violation
For operators with a re-inspection date and equipment that will not hold 41°F.
A cold-holding write-up is one of the few findings that comes with a clock attached. The food gets cited, but the cause is nearly always the equipment, and no amount of retraining fixes a box that cannot hold temperature under a lunch service.
What tends to be behind it
- A condenser that cannot reject heat — blocked, filthy, or corroded, with no clearance around it.
- Ice on the evaporator, from a defrost heater, sensor or controller that has failed.
- A door that no longer seals or no longer closes itself.
- A system quietly short of refrigerant, holding overnight and failing under load.
- A box that is simply undersized for how the site now uses it.
What actually helps before the re-inspection
A licensed refrigeration contractor on site, a written record of what was found and what was done, and temperature readings afterwards that show the box holding under real load rather than at eight in the morning. An inspector is looking for a cause that has been addressed, not a promise.
What we can do
Send us the finding, the equipment, and the date. We will put it in front of a contractor who works your town and can act on that timeline. If nobody realistically can make your date, we will tell you rather than waste three days of it — especially in July on the island, where the honest answer is sometimes no.
We cannot interpret an inspection report, tell you how serious a finding is, or speak to your health authority for you. We are a referral service, not a contractor and not a consultant. Only a licensed contractor in front of the equipment, and your inspector, can settle those questions.