Behind closed kitchen doors

Inspectors find food stored at unsafe temperatures
by Andrew Beale

At their last inspection, three restaurants near campus received at least four health code violations.

Perico’s on Yale received an “immediate closure” notice, but the burrito restaurant’s permit was reinstated the same day.

The New Mexico Environment Department mandated the closure because food was stored at improper temperatures. The NMED’s manual for food service and food processing regulations requires perishable food to be stored at or below 41 degrees, or above 140 degrees. Also, cold-held food can reach a temperature of 45 degrees for up to two hours, but after that it must be discarded.

At Perico’s, a health inspector found eggs at 68 degrees, beef at 54 degrees, and sour cream at 52 degrees. There were other temperature violations as well.
Representatives from the New Mexico Environment Department do not notify a restaurant before inspection.

Herman Aragon, a manager at Perico’s, said the food was at the wrong temperature because it had just come in from the distributor, who stored the food improperly.

“Some of our food was not at temperature … we got it not at temperature through our distributor,” he said. “We had just got our order in that morning, and some of the stuff wasn’t at temperature.”

Aragon said the restaurant has not had problems with its distributor since the incident.

The NMED ordered Perico’s to close immediately because its walk-in freezer was 7 degrees too warm, but Perico’s management adjusted the settings, allowing them to reopen.

Aragon said Perico’s permit was reinstated so quickly that the restaurant didn’t lose any business.

“We were not actually closed down,” he said. “It was within an hour. We weren’t even open for business for that day yet.”

Perico’s also received a citation for evidence of insects, and Aragon said the restaurant has taken steps to fix the problem.

“We had one fly machine already that attracts the flies, and they die,” he said. “We decided to get another one to help towards that.”

Also, the NMED gave notice last year for “blood and food debris on the bottom of the reach-in freezer“ to Ho ho’s, a Chinese food restaurant on Yale.

A Ho ho’s manager declined to comment about this violation.

And finally, Fei’s Café, on Central across from the University, had four violations, two of which were labeled “critical.” A Fei’s manager declined to comment on the health code violations.

The Daily Lobo examined the records of all restaurants off of Central Avenue east of I-25 and west of Nob Hill.

*Perico’s Acapulco Chillys’ Health Violations 7/20/2009

Critical: Cold Holding temperatures
Recommended: 45 degrees.
Observed:
Eggs at 68 degrees
Beef 54 degrees,
Milk 52 degrees,
Green chile 54 degrees,
Sour cream 52 degrees, Chicken 54 degrees
All food stored at improper temperature was discarded
Critical: Observed a flyswatter stored on clean pan. Violation corrected on site.
Critical: Observed at least 10 flies in food preparation area
Critical: Walk-in cooler temperatures (Immediate Closure due to Imminent Health Hazard)
Recommended: Walk-in cooler maintained at 45 degrees
Observed: Walk-in cooler running at 52 degrees *

*Fei’s Café Health Violations 10/27/2009

Critical: Employee observed wiping hands on soiled cloth after washing. Violation corrected on site.
Critical: Sanitation bucket
Recommended: 50 – 200 parts per million of chlorine
Observed: 0 ppm Violation corrected on site
Non-Critical: Grease-soaked newspaper and foil at deep-frying area. Observed grease build-up
Non-Critical: Tubs of soaking rice and noodles stored near hand washing sink and under shelving. *

*Ho ho Central Inc. Health Violations 8/13/2008 And 7/20/2009

Non-Critical: Observed blood and food debris on the bottom of reach-in freezer.
Non-Crtical: Employee/customer bathroom dirt
Non-Critical: Grease buildup on floor under grill
Non-Critical: Food debris on shelves and reach-in freezer

* *Restaurants That Scored 100% On Last Inspection:

Saggio’s (off-campus)
Light and Healthy Mirai Express
Fuddruckers (on Yale)
Not-For-Profit Kitchen in Monte Vista Christian Church
Mes Amis Tea House

~All data from the New Mexico Environment Department* *
“High-risk” conditions found at Sonic and La Posada*
by Pat Lohmann
Daily Lobo

La Posada received 15 health code violations at their April 3 inspection and had to toss out 80 pounds of food labeled “unfit for human consumption.”
Also, Sonic in the SUB was the only restaurant on or off campus to have repeat violations upon inspection, and one of the three violations was classified as “high risk.”

La Posada received nine high-risk violations, the most of all nearby and on-campus restaurants. The New Mexico Environment Department — which sends health inspectors to restaurants citywide — cited the on-campus dining hall for contaminated equipment, improper holding, inadequate cooking/cooling and poor personal hygiene.

NMED inspected La Posada five days later and found it had corrected all violations.
The dining hall discarded 50 pounds of red boiled potatoes, 30 pounds of mashed potatoes, three gallons of green chili sauce and two gallons of charro beans because they were stored at improper temperatures, according to the health code violation report.

Since the inspection, Chartwells terminated Donna Provost, then-manager of La Posada.
Rudy Simchak, resident district manager of Chartwells, said Provost’s termination had nothing to do with the inspection but came as a result of a management restructuring last summer.

Simchak said La Posada routinely discards 40 to 60 pounds of the 1,500 pounds of food they deal with daily.

“If for some reason — especially at the end of the day — any product (is) left on the line, we don’t chill it and reserve it. It’s trash,” he said.

Simchak said that the food is composted, not thrown away.

Also, Simchak said the dining hall’s size contributed to the large number of health code violations. He said most other restaurants don’t have as large a kitchen or as many serving stations, which reduces the risk of breaking health regulations.

“It’s a combination of size and the inspection at that point and time,” he said. “If you have the same violation at three locations, you have three violations.”

Simchak said management hasn’t heard of student illness resulting from La Posada meals.

“We throw away food that could, anyway, be harmful to the recipient of the food. We always side on the side of caution,” he said. “We feed 8,000 to 9,000 meals a day, and (there is) no mention of illness there.”

Each of the La Posada violations were first-time offenses, which Simchak said is significant.

“The important thing is that they’re not repeat violations,” he said.

The NMED issued four citations to the Sonic in the SUB. Three of the violations were repeat violations.

Shredded cheese in the hot dog station was 19 degrees warmer than recommended, according to the health code violations report. The violation was corrected on site.
Thomas Cruse, Sonic manager, said the cheese used on Sonic hot dogs is genetically modified, so holding it at the NMED’s required 45 degrees is unnecessary.

“(The health inspector) has got a thing about the cheese, and technically … for Sonic, we don’t have any requirements per se to keep the cheese cold, because bacteria won’t grow on it,” Cruse said.

The repeat violations were issued first three years ago, and the other two were for a damaged counter below the soft drink dispenser and for dirty walls in the front of the eatery.

Cruse said the damaged counter has to be fixed by University officials and the walls are cleaned regularly.

La Posada 4/3/09
High-risk: Wiping cloths were not being stored in sanitizing solution between uses
High-risk: Cold-holding food
Recommended: 45 degrees
Observed:
Food items at omelet station 48 to 53 degrees
Cottage cheese at 58 degrees
Sandwich station 57 degrees
Items on salad bar 45-49 degrees
High-risk: Pizza spatula heavily soiled and set on surface heavily soiled with grease, old food debris and dust
High risk: No dishwasher thermometer available
High risk: Cold-holding food Recommended: 140 degrees to 41 degrees within four hours Observed: Items were in refrigerator for 1-2 days and were between 48 and 55 degrees
High-risk: Food in “danger zone” of between 40 degrees and 140 degrees for more than four hours not disposed of *All violations corrected by 4/8/09 *

*Sonic (in the SUB)

High risk: Cold-holding food (repeat) Recommended: 45 degrees Observed: 64 degrees
High risk: Sanitizer Recommended: 150 to 200 parts per million of chlorine Observed: less than 150 ppm
Medium risk: Counter front broken in places and not smooth, easily cleaned and non-absorbent (repeat)
Low risk: Walls throughout front of restaurant dirty (repeat) *