Marin County Food Inspections Scraper

Collect public food facility inspection records from Marin County, California. Retrieve business details, inspection dates, placard results, addresses, inspector information, and violation details in a structured dataset. Export results as JSON, CSV, or Excel for food safety research, compliance analysis, and local market research.

What It Does

This actor collects food facility inspection records from Marin County's public data. Choose from multiple collection modes to retrieve inspection records, search for matching information, apply custom filters, or explore available dataset fields.

Each result preserves the source dataset's original fields, including business information, inspection outcomes, and violation details.

Modes

• All Rows: Collect inspection records across the dataset.
• Search: Find records matching a full-text search term.
• Filter: Retrieve records matching a custom filter condition.
• Dataset Metadata: Collect available column names, data types, and descriptions.

Input Examples

All Rows

{
  "mode": "all_rows",
  "maxItems": 50,
  "orderBy": ":id",
  "requestDelayMs": 500
}

Search

{
  "mode": "search",
  "searchText": "inc",
  "maxItems": 25,
  "requestDelayMs": 500
}

Filter

{
  "mode": "filter",
  "where": ":updated_at>'2020-01-01'",
  "maxItems": 25,
  "requestDelayMs": 500
}

Input Parameters

Parameter	Description
mode	Selects the collection mode: all_rows, search, filter, or dataset metadata.
searchText	Text to search for in search mode.
where	Filter condition used in filter mode.
maxItems	Maximum number of dataset items to collect.
orderBy	Field or expression used to order collected records.
requestDelayMs	Delay between requests in milliseconds.

Output Example

{
  "business_name": "PLAZA J CAFE",
  "license_number": "L13943",
  "inspection_date": "2016-02-16T10:30:00.000",
  "placard": "GREEN",
  "formatted_address": "200 N SAN PEDRO RD A, SAN RAFAEL, CA 94903",
  "inspection_id": "20101",
  "violation_id": "27810",
  "business_city": "SAN RAFAEL",
  "business_postal_code": "94903",
  "inspection_type": "Routine",
  "inspection_frequency": "Food Yearly Inspection",
  "inspector": "MARGARET HALLADIN",
  "inspector_comments": "No comments from inspector",
  "inspection_result": "VIOLMINOR",
  "inspection_description": "Only Minor Violation(s) Found",
  "correct_by_date": "2016-02-11T00:00:00.000",
  "corrected_on_site": "No",
  "violation_description": "Provide display thermometer in True prep refrigerator (in middle room).",
  "scraped_at": "2026-10-26T00:00:00+00:00"
}

Output Fields

Field	Description
business_name	Name of the inspected food facility.
license_number	Facility license number.
inspection_date	Date and time of the inspection.
placard	Inspection placard result.
formatted_address	Facility's formatted address.
inspection_id	Inspection record identifier.
violation_id	Associated violation identifier.
business_city	City where the facility is located.
business_postal_code	Facility ZIP code.
inspection_type	Type of inspection performed.
inspection_frequency	Inspection frequency category.
inspector	Name of the inspector.
inspector_comments	Comments recorded by the inspector.
inspection_result	Inspection outcome code.
inspection_description	Description of the inspection outcome.
correct_by_date	Deadline for correcting the violation.
corrected_on_site	Indicates whether the issue was corrected during the inspection.
violation_description	Description of the identified violation.
scraped_at	Date and time the record was collected.

Additional source fields are preserved in the output when available.

Use Cases

• Food Safety Research: Analyze inspection outcomes across Marin County food facilities.
• Compliance Monitoring: Review placards, inspection results, and reported violations.
• Business Research: Build datasets of local food facilities and their inspection histories.
• Geographic Analysis: Organize inspection records by city and postal code.
• Data Dashboards: Prepare structured inspection records for reporting and analytics.

Frequently Asked Questions

What inspection information does this actor collect?

It collects facility details, license numbers, inspection dates, placards, inspector comments, inspection outcomes, and violation descriptions.

Can I search for a specific business or location?

Yes. Use search mode to find matching records or filter mode to apply conditions such as a specific city or inspection date.

Can I collect all available inspection records?

Yes. Select all_rows mode and configure maxItems for the number of records you want.

What export formats are supported?

You can export the dataset as JSON, CSV, Excel, and other supported Apify dataset formats.

Can I schedule recurring inspection data collection?

Yes. Use Apify schedules to run the actor automatically at your preferred intervals.

Trademark Notice

Marin County and related names, logos, and trademarks belong to their respective owners. They are mentioned only to identify the source of the collected information. This actor is an independent tool and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Marin County.

Is Web Scraping Legal?

This actor collects publicly accessible food facility inspection records without bypassing login screens, paywalls, or technical security measures. How collected information can be used depends on applicable laws and the source website's policies.

• Personal Data: Inspection records may contain business-related contact details or inspector names. Handle any personal information in accordance with applicable privacy laws, including GDPR and CCPA where relevant.
• Copyright and Licensing: Public inspection facts may be reusable, but descriptions, documents, and other content can have separate rights or usage conditions. Check applicable permissions before reproducing or redistributing protected material.
• Platform Terms and Rate Limits: Respect Marin County's data-use policies, applicable terms, attribution requirements, and reasonable request limits.
• Disclaimer: This information is general guidance, not legal advice. Consult a qualified legal professional if you have questions about your intended use.

For more information, read Apify's guide: Is web scraping legal?.