Public Health Hazard7 pointsFood Source & Adulteration

03D — Canned food swollen, leaking or rusted

A swollen or bulging can is the classic warning sign of botulism — gas from the bacteria pushes the ends out. Leaking and rusted-through cans can let contamination in. These cannot be sold or used and must be separated from your good inventory so no one grabs one by mistake. The inspector looks for damaged cans and whether they are segregated; scoring rises with the number of bad cans. Tag them 'Do Not Use' and hold them for return or disposal. Public health hazard, starting at 7 points.

What the inspector looks for

Scan canned goods on the shelf. Pull any can that is swollen/bulging, leaking, or rusted. If damaged cans are mixed in with good stock instead of set aside = flag it.

Points & grade impact

Cited at 7 points — 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 by number of cans across condition I-IV; uncorrected PHH → 28. NYC adds every cited violation’s points into one inspection score: 0–13 = A, 14–27 = B, 28+ = C.

Condition level	Points
Level 1	7
Level 2	8
Level 3	9
Level 4	10

How to fix it

Pull swollen, leaking or rusted cans from service immediately and segregate with a 'Do Not Use' label pending return or disposal.

How to prevent it

Inspect all cans on receipt and reject damaged stock; rotate stock (FIFO); store cans dry and off the floor to prevent rust.

✓Inspect every can at receiving and reject swollen, leaking, deeply dented (especially on the seam), or rusted cans.
✓Immediately set aside any can that goes bad in storage with a 'Do Not Use' tag, away from usable stock.
✓Store cans dry and off the floor so they do not rust.
✓Rotate canned stock first-in-first-out and check dates.

Reference: Health Code §81.07(b)

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