FDA 483 OBSERVATION · #215 OF 1,000 MOST-CITED
Food contact surface sanitary inspection and maintenance
FDA cited this observation 136 times across 119 firms in recent inspections. Below: how it breaks down by program area and fiscal year, and real examples of how FDA worded it on Form FDA 483.
What this observation is associated with
Firms cited for this observation also appear in FDA compliance actions — warning letters, injunctions, or seizures — at 1.5× the rate of the average FDA-cited firm (11.8% vs 7.7%), across 119 FEI-matched firms.
This is an association, not causation, and reflects co-occurrence in FDA's records — not a claim that the observation caused or preceded the action.
How FDA worded it — real examples
You did not inspect, maintain, clean and sanitize food contact surfaces as frequently as necessary to protect against the contamination of produce.
You did not maintain food contact surfaces as frequently as necessary to protect against the contamination of produce.
You did not inspect, maintain, clean and sanitize food contact surfaces as frequently as necessary to protect against the contamination of produce.
You did not inspect, maintain, clean and sanitize food contact surfaces as frequently as necessary to protect against the contamination of produce.
You did not inspect, maintain, clean and sanitize food contact surfaces as frequently as necessary to protect against the contamination of produce.
You did not inspect, maintain, clean and sanitize food contact surfaces as frequently as necessary to protect against the contamination of produce.
Related SPEQ references
Where to read the requirements behind this observation area on SPEQ. These are SPEQ's topic and audience pages — not an FDA classification of the citation.
Examples are a representative sample of FDA's published inspection observations. SPEQ is not affiliated with the FDA; this is a reference view of public FDA data.
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