# Marin County Food Inspections Scraper (`kawsar/marin-county-food-inspections-scraper`) Actor

Collect Marin County food facility inspections effortlessly. Pull business names, placard ratings, addresses, and violation details into clean JSON, CSV, or Excel exports for compliance, leads, or local research.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/kawsar/marin-county-food-inspections-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Kawsar](https://apify.com/kawsar) (community)
- **Features:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $2.99 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## Marin County Food Inspections Scraper

![Marin County Food Inspections Scraper cover](https://images.bigibyte.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1260,height=540,fit=cover,format=webp/apify-actors-covers/marin-county-food-inspections-scraper-cover.png)

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**

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

**Search**

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

**Filter**

```json
{
  "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

```json
{
  "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?](https://blog.apify.com/is-web-scraping-legal/).

# Actor input Schema

## `mode` (type: `string`):

What to collect.

## `searchText` (type: `string`):

Full-text search across all columns ($q).

## `where` (type: `string`):

SoQL WHERE clause, e.g. business_city='SAN RAFAEL'.

## `orderBy` (type: `string`):

SoQL $order. Stable paging needs a unique order.

## `appToken` (type: `string`):

Optional Socrata app token (X-App-Token) for higher limits.

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Stop after this many successful rows. Hard max is 1000.

## `requestDelayMs` (type: `integer`):

Polite pacing in milliseconds.

## `userAgent` (type: `string`):

User-Agent header sent with each request.

## `timeoutSecs` (type: `integer`):

Overall run budget in seconds.

## `requestTimeoutSecs` (type: `integer`):

Per-request timeout in seconds.

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Optional proxy. Leave off unless you need it.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "mode": "all_rows",
  "searchText": "inc",
  "where": ":updated_at>'2020-01-01'",
  "orderBy": ":id",
  "maxItems": 100,
  "requestDelayMs": 500,
  "userAgent": "ActorResearch/1.0",
  "timeoutSecs": 300,
  "requestTimeoutSecs": 30,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `overview` (type: `string`):

Dataset rows in the overview table.

## `dataset` (type: `string`):

Full dataset for this run.

## `items` (type: `string`):

Dataset items as JSON.

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "searchText": "inc"
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("kawsar/marin-county-food-inspections-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "searchText": "inc" }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("kawsar/marin-county-food-inspections-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "searchText": "inc"
}' |
apify call kawsar/marin-county-food-inspections-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,kawsar/marin-county-food-inspections-scraper"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/H14Qx6GSNKwdvETbI/builds/kZMfUJenD0DS9rICJ/openapi.json