Dirty conditions at a Stanislaus County restaurant? How to report health code violations

Dominique Williams
·1 min read

Most Stanislaus County food facility inspections are routine, and some are conducted after a citizen has filed a complaint with the Environmental Health Department.

Inspections are unannounced for brick-and-mortar food facilities, according to the department, and the majority of them get inspected twice a year.

One Modesto Bee reader asked: If you see a violation when you’re visiting a restaurant, how do you report it?

We reached out to the county office, who explained the process.

How to file a complaint in Stanislaus County

There are multiple ways to file a complaint with the health department if you have a concern with a food facility in Stanislaus County.

The public can call 209-525-6700 to report complaints, said Rob Kostlivy, Director of Stanislaus County Environmental Resources.

“Our phone team will take these complaints and assign them to Environmental Health district inspectors,” Kostlivy said.

Complaints also can be filed on the Stanislaus County website’s customer service center. On the site, scroll to the environmental health tab and choose which topic area to file a complaint to.

Topic areas include:

  • food

  • food borne illness

  • liquid waste

  • motels/hotels

  • recreational health

  • surfacing sewage

  • tattoo

  • water (wells and public)

Email complaints can also be made to the department. A list of contacts can be found on the website.

In-person complaints can be made at the department’s office at 3800 Cornucopia Way, Suite C in Modesto.

A hard copy of a complaint can be sent to the department’s office stating the nature of the complaint. “Please note, this is the slowest response time,” Kostlivy said.