r/healthinspector

Hi there,

I really want to become a certified health inspector in Canada, however I am unsure on what steps i should take for the time being as I do not have the right background as others. For context, I have a B.A in International Development. Also, further complicating things slightly, i am currently unable to relocate provinces (mainly due to financial reasons) to attend one of the 6 accredited school fast track programs (2 years) to become a health inspector. I am hoping to move to Vancouver in 3 years or so, so that i could attend BCIT and do their env public health program then, when I am more financially stable.

I am also aware that a lot of people say CIPHI jobs are really oversaturated but I would be happy to do jobs of a similar nature with the credentials I would recieve after passing the exam.

In the meantime, I am not sure whether i should prioritze the following:

1. Take a 1 year diploma in OHS at Western University so I can get slightly transferable skills, a job quickly (hopefully) and save up money for the program at BCIT

2. Take some kind of environmental science diploma or go back and do a BSC in env science or public hwalth (since I already have a undergrad degree hopefully this could be shortened to two years instead of doing another 4). Benefit to this is that some of the credits in science i take might be transferable to the program at BCIT and I would be upgrading my science and math basics so I could do better in the program.

If anyone has industry knowledge or any general advice on what the best path would be for my situation i would really appreciat it, i do not know who to ask.

Hi all, so I started working at an Asian grocery store in march in CA

Obviously I start buying and eating the food from here, and in April - my partner and I got severely sick with the stomach flu… possibly from here

I stopped eating and shopping here as I learned there’s rats etc. Fish dept break frozen fish on the floor, ice scoop is same ice scoop used for raw fish and shaved ice dessert…

I want to report, but I’m also an employee here

Please advise, thank you

I'm not sure what's in the air recently but I have been having many difficult operators. Whether it's pool inspections or food inspections, I seem to be getting a lot of "nobody ever told me that" or "the last inspector never said that this was a problem", and just generally argumentative operators when it comes to violations or obtaining corrective action.

My typical calm but firm response of "I don't know what happened before, I wasn't there. But I am here now and right now it's not in compliance etc" doesnt seem to be working well. People continue to dispute things and try to go around me to my manager? Luckily my manager is supportive, but I want to get to a point where I can be the one to handle these situations without them having to become involved.

What are some responses or skills that have helped you all in this aspect?

Has anybody ever failed standardized and had to do it again? I don’t know why but I am completely stressed out. I did a practice standardization inspection and I got 4 swings. 4 swings is the max so I barely passed. I’m starting my real ones soon and I feel really anxious about it for some reason lol.

I’ve been doing this for about two years and still find the risk categories for food establishments confusing.

I have establishment which permit says their a CAT II but they have very extensive cooking and cooking of several TCS food items and some as CAT IV which basically just reheat two types of frozen TCS foods and discard the leftovers.

Idk if people who worked before me did this wrong or I’m just really confused myself and need more guidance lol.

Hi everyone,

I failed the NEHA exam back in February. I plan on retaking it really soon (3 month wait time is almost up). Does anyone have any advice on the retaking process? I would really appreciate any advice from anyone who has recently retaken the exam.

What study guides did you use on your second try? Would you say the second try was harder than the first? I’m really nervous and I really want to pass this exam :((

Hey all! I got some questions about Texas RS Exam.

Does anyone know are there waiting period for reschedule if you failed the exam? I heard some people said you will have to wait 90 days before rescheduling if you failed, but they said it was back in the time. How about now?

Can I schedule exam during the weekend? Cuz I have work during the week, I will consider take time off for it but I would prefer weekend.

Thank you for answering!

Seriously, should I go line by line pointing out every inconsistency?? Ask them to start over? I am new to haccp review in general but I am OVER THIS

I'm an international student planning to study NZ Master food safety and quality at Massey university (Feb 2027 intake). A licensed immigration adviser told me that, struggle to find jobs in NZ and suffer a lot. Is this true in 2026?! Any professionals, recruiters, or immigration advisers here who can share honest feedback would be really appreciated.

Our low temp dish machine(AF/AFC 3D-S) uses chlorine sanitizer(Trupower Eco San). Can we switch to quat(Oasis 146) if we run out? Or would we be required to use the 3 compartment sink method?

** Oops, my apologies. On further reading this may be the wrong sub as I am not a sanitarian. It’s an urgent issue for me at the moment and Im having trouble getting an immediate response from ADS. Using the 3 compartment sink seems to be the obvious answer to me but current management thinks otherwise and I’m a little uncomfortable with the situation. Thanks everyone for the insight so far.

Hi to everyone here, I apologize in advance, 'cause english is not my first language, I just want to know if any of you have a tip, i'm about to take this exam to be a sanitarian in arizona, my education is from mexico, i'm a food science engineer (ingeniero en procesos bioalimentarios) i just wanna know what was the process to do the exam, how to pay.

I don't have any expeience in the field, and other sanitarian told me that taking a job like this would help me to start

I already sent a email to the page of health services of arizona looking for help with them, but, i'm searching for more information.

Thanks to everyone and wish me luck, i need it:)

I graduate on May 17th, and there is currently an EHS position open in my county! I was told it takes several weeks after graduation for transcripts to update, and im worried about the job closing before I get a chance to apply/get the letter, which also takes several weeks. I do plan to contact the county to ask, but i was also wondering if anybody had any experience with a similar situation? Is it possible to still get the letter allowing you to work if your transcript doesnt yet state you have your degree? or is there something else i should try?