04J — Appropriate food thermometer not provided or used
Without a working thermometer you are guessing at cook, cooling, reheat, and holding temperatures — which is how unsafe food reaches a customer. The inspector confirms an appropriate, accurate food thermometer is provided and used to check potentially hazardous food (and a thermocouple for reduced-oxygen items). It is cited at 8 points.
What the inspector looks for
Ask the cook to hand you the food thermometer right now. Dip the probe in a cup of ice water — it must read 32°F (within 2°F). If nobody can find a thermometer, or the probe reads 37°F in ice water, that is the violation. Every cook station needs one, reachable without crossing the kitchen.
Points & grade impact
Cited at 8 points — Cited at 8 (condition V). NYC adds every cited violation’s points into one inspection score: 0–13 = A, 14–27 = B, 28+ = C.
How to fix it
Obtain and use a calibrated food thermometer/thermocouple to verify PHF temperatures at cooking, cooling, reheating and holding.
How to prevent it
Keep a calibrated metal-stem or thermocouple thermometer accessible in prep and holding areas; calibrate by the ice-point method (32°F); record temperatures on a log.
- ✓Keep a calibrated probe thermometer at every cook and holding station and actually log temps each shift.
- ✓Calibrate by the ice-point method — in ice water it must read 32°F (within 2°F) — and re-check regularly.
- ✓Clean and sanitize the probe between foods so it does not cross-contaminate.
- ✓Use a thin-tip thermocouple for thin foods and for any ROP/HACCP item that needs a precise reading.
Reference: Health Code §81.09(g)
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