This website provides public health inspection results for the following public health programs and related services in Lambton County:
- DineSafe Lambton (food premises)
- Personal Service Settings
- Beaches
- Recreational Water Facilities
- Day Care
- Recreational Camps
- Small Drinking Water Systems
- Infection Prevention and Control Lapses
- Tobacco Convictions
When using this website, please keep in mind:
- While every effort is made to keep the information on this website regularly updated, Lambton Public Health cannot guarantee information contained herein is accurate, complete or current at all times and makes no warranty or representation, expressed or implied, concerning the accuracy, completeness or currency of the information contained on this website.
- Lambton Public Health assumes no liability for any inaccurate, delayed or incomplete information, or for any actions taken in reliance of information on this website.
- We do not endorse any business.
- We encourage you to view all inspection reports for a business. The inspection history may provide a more complete picture of compliance compared to a single inspection result.
- We cannot guarantee the conditions of a business at all times. The inspection reports only describe what the inspector saw on the date of inspection.
DineSafe Lambton
Lambton Public Health is required by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care to conduct a Food Safety Program that involves the inspection and monitoring of all food premises in Lambton County. DineSafe is Lambton’s food safety program.
Public health inspectors work closely with owners and operators of food premises to ensure their food premises meet or exceed all requirements and standards in the Ontario Regulation 562 (Food Premises) under the Ontario Health Protection and Promotion Act including minimum standards for food temperatures, food handling, sanitation, dishwashing and personal hygiene practices.
Each inspection results in a pass, a conditional pass or a closed notice. Food premises must post the food safety inspection notice in an obvious place clearly visible to members of the public, at or near the entrance of the establishment. If a health hazard is noted during an inspection, immediate action is taken to correct the situation.
For more information, contact us.
Personal Service Settings
Lambton Public Health (LPH) public health inspectors work closely with owners and operators of personal service settings to ensure their premises are operated safely and meet all provincial standards and requirements outlines in the Personal Service Settings Ontario Reg. 136/18 under the Ontario Health Protection and Promotion Act.
LPH inspects businesses offering personal services such as tattooing, body piercing, aesthetics, hair styling and barbering. Facilities are inspected annually to verify personal service owners/operators are aware of and follow proper infection prevention and control practices.
For more information, contact us.
Beaches
Lambton Public Health monitors the water quality at municipally owned or operated public bathing beaches within Lambton County in accordance with the Recreational Water Protocol (2019).
Monitoring water quality and safety of public beaches is done weekly from early June until the end of August. Lambton Public Health investigates all reports of water-borne illness.
Signs warning against swimming are posted when beach conditions pose a potential health risk to bathers. Most often the posting of a beach is due to high levels of bacteria in the water.
No sampling occurs along the St. Clair River; however, a caution sign, advising of high bacterial levels following heavy rainfall, has been permanently placed at:
- Seager Park
- Branton Cundick Park
- Brander Park
Following heavy rainfall, the water at area beaches may be temporarily polluted for up to 48 hours. If the water becomes cloudy due to wave activity, bacteria from the bottom may become suspended and increase the risk of illness.
Beach Water Quality Surveillance – access to reports in Lambton County.
For more information, contact us.
Recreational Water
Under the Ontario Health Protection and Promotion Act, Lambton’s public health inspectors, conduct routine inspections of public swimming pools, spas, wading pools and splash pads to ensure they are operated in a safe and sanitary manner and meet the provincial standards for recreational water, including Ontario Regulation 565/90 (Public Pools), and Ontario Regulation 428/05 (Public Spas).
For more information, contact us.
Daycare
Lambton Public Health (LPH) works with child-care providers to ensure compliance and health and safety in child care settings. Under the Ontario Child Care and Early Years Act (2014) LPH conducts routine inspections of licensed child care centres within Lambton County to ensure they provide a safe and healthy environment for children.
For more information, contact us.
Recreational Camps
Lambton’s public health inspectors work with recreational camp operators to ensure the food, drinking water, and recreational waters are safe for campers, and that good sanitation and infection prevention and control practices are in place.
Lambton Public Health inspects all recreational camps in Lambton County in accordance with the Recreational Camp Ontario Reg. 503/17 of the Ontario Health Protection and Promotion Act.
For more information, contact us.
Small Drinking Water Systems
Lambton Public Health (LPH) and the Ontario Ministry of Environment and Climate Change monitor public drinking water systems in Lambton County. Public health inspectors conduct an on-site risk assessment for every small drinking water system to ensure a safe water supply.
If water supplied by a system is unsafe for consumption, a boil water or drinking water advisory will be issued to protect users from real or potential health risks related to the drinking water supply.
LPH reports all drinking water advisories under the Small Drinking Water Systems Reg. 319 of the Health Protection and Promotion Act. Drinking water advisories are posted for the duration of the advisory.
A Boil Water Advisory (BWA) is issued by Lambton’s Medical Officer of Health (MoH) when conditions indicate the water is not safe for human consumption due to microbial contamination, unless treated or boiled.
The BWA is lifted when the water is safe to use and no longer poses a threat to public health.
A Drinking Water Advisory (DWA) is issued by the MoH when boiling or disinfecting the water will not render it safe for consumption (ex. chemical contamination). Do not use water from the tap for drinking, food prep, making beverages or ice cubes, washing foods, or brushing teeth. Use a safe alternate water source, such as bottled water or commercially treated water.
The DWA is lifted when the water is deemed safe to use and no longer poses a threat to public health.
For more information, contact us.
Infection Prevention and Control Lapses
The Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care directs Lambton Public Health (LPH) to publicly disclose more detailed information on infection prevention and control (IPAC) lapses identified through a complaint, referral (e.g., from a regulatory college), or through disease surveillance in accordance with the Personal Service Settings Ontario Reg. 136/18 under the Ontario Health Protection and Promotion Act.
This specifically applies to personal service settings (e.g., nail salons, tattoo or piercing studios) and settings not routinely inspected by public health including regulated health professional settings (e.g., physicians, dentists, or physiotherapists).
Once an IPAC lapse is identified, a report is posted online and remains posted for a minimum of 2 years on this webpage.
Lambton Public Health conducts a non-routine IPAC investigation of the facility to assess practices and procedures when potential infection prevention and control lapses are brought to the attention of LPH. An IPAC lapse is a departure from infection prevention and control standards that could result in infectious disease transmission through exposure to blood or bodily fluids.
If an IPAC lapse is identified, LPH works with the facility to mitigate any hazards to the public and prevent further problems from arising. If the outcome of an investigation indicates a direct health risk to patients, LPH has a process to:
- notify the potentially affected patients
- inform them of the risks
- provide advice around any necessary medical follow-up
Posted reports do not guarantee the facilities listed, and not listed, are free of IPAC lapses. Facilities investigated by LPH following a complaint or referral, and no infection IPAC lapses identified are not included.
For more information, contact us.
Tobacco Convictions
Lambton Public Health enforces the Smoke-Free Ontario Act, 2017 (SFOA, 2017) to help reduce youth access to tobacco and vapour products. The SFOA, 2017 prohibits the sale or supply of tobacco and vapour products to anyone who is less than 19 years old or to anyone who appears to be younger than 25 years old unless identification is provided.
If you have any questions or can provide information regarding businesses selling tobacco or vapour products to minors, contact us.
Lambton Public Health is required to publicly disclose and report each tobacco sale related conviction of a tobacco retailer in Lambton County within two weeks of the conviction. Reports must be published for five years.
Prospective buyers of tobacco retail dealer premises are strongly encouraged to contact the local public health unit to confirm premises conviction history. A premises with two or more tobacco sales convictions against any owner (past or present) at that address within a five year period is subject to a Notice of Prohibition Against the Sale, Storage and Delivery of Tobacco Products (known as an automatic prohibition or “AP”).
Section 22 of the Smoke-Free Ontario Act, 2017 (SFOA, 2017) states that upon becoming aware that there are two or more convictions against any owner for tobacco sales offences committed at the same place within a five year period, the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC) shall notify the owner(s) or occupant of the place that the sale, storage and delivery of tobacco products is prohibited at the place.
The MOHLTC accepts requests from public health units for automatic prohibitions where owner(s) of the business was/were convicted of tobacco sales offences on two occasions. The SFOA, 2017 convictions report published on public health unit’s websites lists all owner-related tobacco sales convictions that are eligible for an automatic prohibition. Please note that automatic prohibitions do not apply to vapour products sales convictions.