Roaches: a pizzeria’s pest problem

KTNV, the news leader in Las Vegas, reports that on Aug. 27, inspectors shut down Sicily’s Pizza after finding it was infested with cockroaches. There were also ants and flies, but roaches large and small were spotted throughout the facility — on the fridge, floors, food containers, even the handsink in the bathroom.

As for the food — chicken, wings and beef cubes were at unsafe temperatures.

Bags of flour and salt were left sitting open —  a bad idea in a place infested with cockroaches and where a food handler wasn’t using proper hair restraints.

The food prep table was so dirty they needed to clean it with floor degreaser, and the pizza cutter was being stored in a bleach-filled sanitizer bucket.

A hole in the wall is an intersting storage spot for a thermometer. But better there than not at all. One fridge had no thermometer and another had no dates on the food.

Also, inspectors noted that the person in charge couldn’t demonstrate food safety knowledge.

Two days after they were shut down, they re-opened with a clean slate — zero demerits and an A grade.

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About Douglas Powell

A former professor of food safety and the publisher of barfblog.com, Powell is passionate about food, has five daughters, and is an OK goaltender in pickup hockey. Download Doug’s CV here. Dr. Douglas Powell editor, barfblog.com retired professor, food safety 3/289 Annerley Rd Annerley, Queensland 4103 dpowell29@gmail.com 61478222221 I am based in Brisbane, Australia, 15 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time