Once you have received a letter by email notifying you that your application submittal is complete, your plans are assigned to a plan review officer and their contact information is provided. Plans are reviewed in the order they are received. When your plan is up for review, you will be contacted by phone or email. The review of most plans is underway within about 30 days. If it has been more than 30 days, you can call the plan review officer directly to check on the status.
This information can be obtained from the manufacturer’s website. You may also obtain equipment specification sheets from the equipment supplier or from an on-line search.
To easily associate the equipment list with the floor plan, assign a number to each piece of equipment on the list. On the floor plan indicate where the equipment is located by using the number on the equipment list.
No. The Minnesota Food Code requires that you submit your plans 30 days before beginning construction. If it has been more than 30 days, you may proceed, but know that you will be required to make changes if the work done is not in compliance with the Minnesota Food Code.
Starting construction prior to approval may result in costly corrections and delayed openings.
No, a licensed plumber is required to do all plumbing work. The plumber must submit plumbing plans to the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry for review and approval, but in some cases plans can be submitted directly to the local municipality. Visit the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry’s Plumbing plan review agreements for more information.
Contact information for your local inspector is provided in your Notice of Completed Plan Review letter. Advance notice of at least 14 calendar days is required.
Contact the reviewer who signed your letter. If you have not received your final/licensing inspection, the revisions can simply be considered part of your original submittal and undergo a review. If you have already had your final inspection, contact the reviewer to discuss the revisions. A determination will be made at that time whether or not you will be required to resubmit plans.
Please see the Retail Food Establishment Construction Guide.
Contact the Minnesota Department of Health, Well Management Unit, at 651-201-4600 for well construction and water quality compliance verification. Approved well construction and water quality compliance must be verified, prior to licensing. Include a copy of the well log or unique well number with your plan review submittal.
A current Certificate of Compliance must be provided to verify the sewage treatment system is in compliance with Minnesota Rules. Contact the county, city, or township to find out how to obtain the Certificate of Compliance and submit it with your plan review documents.
Typically a retail plan review is required whenever a food establishment is conducting any retail operation. There are very few instances when a retail plan review may not be required. If your establishment will have both retail and manufactured foods, please call our plan review team at 651-201-6194 to determine if a retail plan review is required.
Taprooms are the same as bars and both are regulated by the Minnesota Food Code.
Yes, a menu must consist of any food and beverages being sold, even if the only items being sold are beverages. Menus must also provide details on how the food is being handled, prepared, or if it is received and sold prepackaged. The more food service and handling your establishment conducts, the more detailed the menu should be.
More Firewood Information
All state-certified wood materials will have the state certificate on the label. Certified materials have been processed or treated according to the state regulations before crossing quarantine boundaries.
- Firewood is certified by the MDA and displays the appropriate label information.
- Is unopened
- Firewood is certified by the MDA and displays the appropriate label information.
- Is unopened
- Firewood bundles have been opened
- Firewood is not certified as treated
- Firewood bundles fail to display the appropriate certification shield.
- Firewood bundles have been opened
- Firewood is not certified as treated
- Firewood bundles fail to display the appropriate certification shield.
- Firewood is certified by the MDA and displays the appropriate label information.
- Is unopened
- Firewood bundles have been opened
- Firewood is not certified as treated
- Firewood bundles fail to display the appropriate certification shield.
Firewood Pests and Diseases
- Emerald ash borer is a non-native insect that has killed millions of ash trees since 2002 when it was accidentally introduced into Michigan from China. This invasive insect is spreading to other states and Canadian provinces due to the movement of infested firewood and nursery stock. Emerald ash borer has been found in Minnesota and firewood could further spread this destructive pest across the state.
- Spongy moth is among America’s most destructive tree pests. The moths have caused millions of dollars of damage to forests in eastern states and now threaten Minnesota forests. Spongy moth eggs can be transported on firewood.
- Oak wilt is a disease that kills large numbers of oak trees in Minnesota every year. Oak wilt can be spread by insects that carry the fungal spores from infected firewood to healthy trees.
- Dutch elm disease has devastated our elm population and continues to kill more elms every year. It can be spread when insects carrying the fungal spores travel from infected firewood to healthy trees.
- The Asian longhorned beetle, a threat to hardwood trees (e.g., maples, birch, elm and ash), has been detected and quarantined in New York, New Jersey and Ontario, where eradication efforts are underway. It was also detected in Illinois but was eradicated.
