Phone: (410) 770-6880
Fax: (410) 770-6888

Open Monday – Friday 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM

*After hours, on-call service is provided for emergency situations related to but not limited to the following: Pet or human exposure to wildlife, Bite or Scratch from pets to humans; Reports of Illegal Open Burning; Complaints of unlawful discharge of sewage to the ground surface, or waters of the State. Staff may be reached after hours by calling the Talbot County Operations Center at (410) 822-0095. The Dispatcher will then contact the staff member on call.*

Regulatory Reference COMAR 10.15.03​

The food protection program is responsible for the licensing and inspection all retail food service establishments in Talbot County. Additionally, all food facility plan reviews associated with new facility construction or existing facility remodeling must be submitted to this office for review and approval prior to commencement of construction.

Any individual or entity proposing a temporary food event in the County must submit an application to this office for a Temporary Food Service Facility Permit. (Note: There is no fee associated with the submittal of this application.) Any application for a temporary food service facility event must be submitted 2 weeks prior to the event.​

FOOD SERVICE FACILITY LICENSING

Please be advised, the following applications/forms must be submitted to this office in association with applying for a permit to operate a retail food service establishment:

FOOD FACILITY PLAN REVIEW

A plan review is required for prior to construction of any food service facilities, as well as prior to any material alterations or remodeling of existing food service facilities.

A Plan Review Application will not be reviewed until all information, as well as the required fee, have been submitted. The Plan Review Application, see link below, provides a detailed list of information which must be provided to this office at the time of the submittal of the plan review application. Once plans have been reviewed and approved, the applicant is advised in writing of the findings and is informed that a final inspection of the construction must be completed by this office prior to operation.

FOOD SAFETY

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Farmer’s Market Food Vendors: Vendors must submit an evaluation form. If offering samples, they must also submit an application for a Seasonal Farmer’s Market Sampling License and the required application fee.

Processing: The following foods may not be manufactured at a retail food service facility and must receive prior approval and/or be licensed by MDH Office of Food Protection:

• low-acid canned foods
• acidified foods
• hermetically sealed and ready-to-eat potentially hazardous foods such as smoked fish or pasteurized crabmeat

**Please see COMAR 10.15.03.24 “Food Manufacturing in Food Service Facilities” for more details on submitting plans to this office for review and approval.**

Juicing: Please visit the FDA’s website on Juice HACCP Guidance for more information on requirements.

RESOURCES