04I — Unprotected non-PHF re-served
This is the lower-risk cousin of re-serving spoilable food: it covers unwrapped food that does not need refrigeration, like a bread basket or loose crackers, being sent back out after it sat on a customer's table. It still carries other people's germs, so it cannot be reused even though it will not spoil. The inspector watches the service flow and asks staff how table returns are handled. Only individually wrapped items that were never opened may go back out.
What the inspector looks for
Look at bread baskets, chips, crackers, and other unwrapped dry items coming back from tables: they must be thrown away, not put back out. Returning unwrapped food to the next guest fails.
Points & grade impact
Cited at 5 points — 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 by number of items across condition I-IV. NYC adds every cited violation’s points into one inspection score: 0–13 = A, 14–27 = B, 28+ = C.
How to fix it
Stop re-serving and discard any previously served, unprotected food.
How to prevent it
Do not re-serve food that has been on a customer's table; serve only individually wrapped condiments and items that can be reused safely.
- ✓Throw away any bread, chips, or unwrapped item that has been on a guest's table, even if it looks untouched.
- ✓Switch high-waste items like bread to per-order portions so less comes back.
- ✓Offer wrapped crackers or sealed packets where you want to be able to reuse the unopened ones.
- ✓Train servers that 'looks fine' does not matter — anything that went to a table is single-use.
Reference: Health Code §81.07(l)
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