Public Health Hazard10 pointsFood Source & Adulteration

03A — Food from an unapproved source or home-canned

Every food in the kitchen has to come from an approved, licensed commercial source so it has been inspected and is traceable if someone gets sick. Home-canned and home-prepared foods are banned outright (home canning is a botulism risk), as are eggs, meat, or vacuum-packed foods from unapproved sources. The inspector may ask to see delivery invoices, especially for meat and seafood. Anything from an unknown or home source must be pulled and discarded. This is a public health hazard (cited at 10 points).

What the inspector looks for

Check that meat, eggs, and packaged food came from a licensed supplier — invoices on hand. No home-canned or home-prepared food anywhere. Mystery-source or homemade product = flag it.

Points & grade impact

Cited at 10 points — Cited at 10 (condition IV); uncorrected PHH → 28. NYC adds every cited violation’s points into one inspection score: 0–13 = A, 14–27 = B, 28+ = C.

How to fix it

Remove unapproved-source food from service and discard or segregate with a 'Do Not Use' label; stop offering any home-prepared or home-canned items.

How to prevent it

Buy only from approved, licensed suppliers and keep invoices/records; never bring home-prepared or home-canned food into the establishment.

✓Buy only from licensed, approved suppliers and keep the invoices and receipts on site.
✓Never bring in home-cooked, home-canned, or 'a friend made it' food, even for staff meal in the same space.
✓Reject any delivery you cannot tie to an approved vendor.
✓Confirm that eggs, meat, and ROP products specifically come from approved processors.

Reference: Health Code §81.04

Will your kitchen get an A?

Run a free 5-minute self-audit across all 73 NYC violation codes and see your projected letter grade — before the inspector does.

Run a free self-audit

More Food Source & Adulteration violations

← All NYC violation codes