Author Archives: Rob Mancini

Health inspector charged with bribery

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The Toronto star writes:

A City of Toronto health inspector charged with trying to extort $1,400 from a married couple running a bar will testify it was the husband who suggested a bribe, his lawyer says.

"His evidence will be that it was (bar owner) Mr. Kang who proposed the whole scheme," defence lawyer Daniel Kirby told Justice Gary Trotter on Wednesday.

Hong Hai Kang, co-owner of the Weston Rd. bar, broached the topic of a payoff with health inspector Kerry Wong to stave off negative food safety reports in the hopes it would "assuage his wife’s concerns that he was letting his business go to pot," Kirby told the judge.

Wong, 44, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of extortion. He lost his job after he was charged. He is expected to testify Thursday.

Is it really worth it? Come on.

The cursed 3 compartment sink method

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I have finally decided to give my body a break and cut down on the amount of caffeine I consume daily. The problem is that I am not a morning kinda’ guy and when restaurant operators decide to tell me just how much they like me when I visit, I look like Christopher Walken ready to snap. This morning I decided to visit a local mom and pop restaurant to perform a routine inspection. These smaller type of establishments typically use the 3 compartment sink method for dishwashing as commercial dishwashers are not required. I feel that staff are not compelled to wash dishes using this method which includes washing with soap and water, rinsing, sanitizing (i.e. 50 ppm chlorine), and as a final step air drying, especially when the boss isn’t kicking around.  A commercial dishwasher equipped with an approved sanitation cycle would be more appropriate. So when I asked the owner how the dishes are washed, he cursed, then gave me the wrong answer.

 There seems to be a tendency for operators to mix soap with chlorine in the sanitizing step of the method, that is, in the third sink prior to air drying. In doing so, the sanitizer is not operating at its full potential. Soap is alkaline in nature as it uses sodium and potassium hydroxides to make surfactants. Bleach (chlorine) operates optimally at lower pH’s therefore added soap will decrease the efficacy of the bleach and should not be used.

 

Every health inspector needs one of these.

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Oh snap, this is an awesome T-shirt. I know the writing is small, so this is what it says.

You know you are a health inspector when…

  1. People ask you where to eat and…… you just smile.
  2. You interrogate the cook at your own family’s Thanksgiving dinner
  3. The waiter asks “How would you like your burger?”and you reply,”Cooked to 160°F please.”
  4. Vomiting, diarrhea, and parasitic organisms are just part of the dinner conversation.
  5. You have a pool and spa kit on the edge of your bathtub.
  6. Your pockets contain test strips, alcohol wipes, thermometers, and spare change.
  7. Examining septic systems and leach fields constitute your daily aerobic workout.
  8. You know how to pronounce words like “Escherichia” and “ Staphylococcus.”
  9. Children avoid your neighborhood when setting up lemonade stands.
  10. You have developed a HACCP plan for your backyard barbeques.

The importance of documentation

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Whether a restaurant belongs to a large chain or simply a mom and pop operation, it is always beneficial to document cooler temperatures, hot holding temperatures, sanitizer concentration for dishwashers, time/temperature checks on a daily basis. A quality control program never hurts. I despise those restaurant inspections where I end up tossing away copious amounts of food simply because something went wrong; in this case, their cooler was inoperable. The other day on a routine restaurant inspection, I found that the temperature of all pre-made food products in a display cooler which included sausage hamburgers, cheese hamburgers, and others were reading at an internal temperature of 20°C. This could have easily been avoided if temperatures were routinely monitored. Apparently, this has been going on for a while without proper adjustment. Cooler temperatures must be maintained at 4-5°C to slow bacterial growth, not eliminate, to slow growth. Good idea to check your refrigerator at home as well. What a waste of food. Furthermore, perishable food products that are maintained at refrigeration temperatures must be labeled to verify the date it was prepared. If it is not consumed within three days, get rid of it, like you would with your old Milli Vanilli LP’s.

For the love of God, take it back and next time use a thermometer

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Restaurants are always faced with the problem of rapid staff turnover rates resulting in an on-going regime of constant training. Fair enough but are new staff being trained in food safety? In certain provinces only one staff in five on any given shift are required to have some sort of food safety training through a professional organization. Theoretically, on-site managers will have taken the course in the hopes of shedding some of that knowledge to their staff. The concern, however, is that some managers simply don’t care about food safety and information is not being relayed to front line service staff. That’s when typically the public, you, barf. It is one thing to train someone on the basics of food safety in a classroom setting but it is another thing to change ones’ behaviours and habits when dealing with issues on food safety. For instance, this is a picture of an undercooked chicken burger served to a customer during a lunch rush. The manager was more concerned about dealing with the influx of customers than paying attention to food safety, as a result the cooks followed suit and a raw burger was served. Managers have a responsibility to promote safe food practices and encourage staff to do the same. It apparently seems that attitudes and behaviours tend to change when something horrible happens, like a foodborne outbreak. It is time to be proactive and not reactive.

Rats, mice, roaches, the need for more inspectors

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Astonishing and amazing, like the recent Pet Shop Boys concert I attended, what one can find during a restaurant inspection.

KITV writes

In mid-August, a customer complained about finding a roach in a hamburger from a Honolulu fast-food restaurant. Two days later, an inspector found dead roaches in a plastic paper sheet cover at the same restaurant.

The state sends inspectors on unannounced inspections of restaurants. KITV followed along as inspector Raena Nishimura checked the conditions at Downtown Coffee, a coffee bar off Fort Street Mall.

"Just looking in the cupboards for any signs of droppings of rodents, roach droppings," Nishimura said.

There were none of those at Downtown Coffee, but an inspector found a live rat under the sink at a Kalihi noodle shop recently.

At another downtown restaurant, an inspector found mold in a soda dispenser, just a few days after a customer complained of finding mold in some lemonade.

The only way to find violations and get dirty restaurants to clean up their act is to inspect them on a regular basis.

"Our supervisor would like to have our establishments inspected twice a year, but that’s impossible," Nishimura said.

It is impossible because budget cuts have left a small number of inspectors to handle thousands of restaurants.

I couldn’t agree more, public health inspections are a culmination of hard work integrating a myriad of different scientific disciplines. As a result, they take time and more resources are needed if we are to take food safety seriously.

Restaurant inspections:announced or unannounced…

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Restaurant inspections are generally carried out unannounced by a health inspector. In this way one can obtain a snap shot of what is actually going on at that time. Some of the expressions on employees’ faces when I arrive and announce myself are priceless, makes me feel so wanted at times. Now I know how Chuck Norris feels when he enters an establishment. So, I decided to perform a restaurant inspection that was scheduled to eliminate the wonderful element of surprise. When a health inspector schedules an inspection, it is assumed that managers’, food operators’, supervisors and anyone else involved with that facility are going to take extra measures to ensure that things are cleaned up and everything is in check. I sometimes favor scheduled inspections because if I go in and find something wrong, for instance, mixing soap with chlorine sanitizer, then it becomes more apparent that staff are unaware or misinformed on this issue. More importantly, as the health inspector develops a relationship with the chef and spends time explaining why certain practices are right or wrong, both the establishment and the customer benefits.

Charred hamburger patties, no thanks

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Digital tip sensitive thermometers are as important to a chef as espresso is to m wife and I. While inspecting a fast food restaurant which serves predominantly burgers, I noticed the chef relying solely on color to determine doneness of burgers. As mentioned time and time again on barfblog, color is not a reliable tool to determine doneness of burgers due to premature browning of meat which may result before the burger reaches 160°F, the temperature required to inactivate pathogens such as E. coli 0157 H:7. Studies have demonstrated that burgers cooked to 135°C and allowed to sit for a few minutes looked the same as a burger cooked to 160°C. After explaining this concept to the chef, the response was well I cook the burger on high heat until it pretty much looks charred. Oh “that’s a deal breaker.” I have been dying to use this catch phrase from 30 Rock for sometime now. I went on to explain what happens when meat is cooked at high temperatures to a point of charring. A chemical change can occur in the meat resulting in the formation of heterocyclic amines (HCA’s). To prevent this from occurring, one can lower the temperature used for grilling and flip patties continually. The use of tongs or spatulas should be used to flip meat as a fork will puncture the meat causing juices to run causing flame ups which are responsible for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, a carcinogenic compound2. It is interesting to note that marinades and spices may reduce the amount HCA’s found in the meat. The addition of spices such as rosemary, thyme, sage, and brine, reduced the content of HCA’s below 60% when compared to a control1. It is always a good idea to scrape off any parts of the meat that are charred. Finally, always use a digital tip sensitive thermometer to determine if your burger is done 71°C (160°F).

Sources:

1. Antioxidant spices reduce the formation of heterocyclic amines in fried meat
M. Murkovic, D. Steinberger and W. Pfannhauser
Volume 207, Number 6 / November, 1998

2. Environmental Health Services. Food Council News. Volume 4 Issue 3. May 2001. Capital Health

 

Sushi + bacteria = barf

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I was always skeptical when it came to sushi because of hands constantly touching the rice, fish, and other ingredients that go in the roll. Rice is notorious for harbouring bacteria such as Bacillus cereus, a nasty little germ that is capable of forming a spore and can cause one to seriously embark on a journey of barfing. One of the critical control points in controlling the growth of this bacterium is to acidify the rice, that is, attain a pH of <4.6. Synder1 reports that a pH of less than 4.6 will retard the growth of this bacterium and others such as Clostridium botulinum. I remember when I attempted to make sushi at home, I added enough vinegar to the rice that one bite would have given you an instant gastric ulcer, so I stopped. But are food operators’ testing their product to ensure the rice is at a pH of <4.6?

The Arizona Daily Star reports that Sushi Ten was reported in having 11 critical health violations.

Sushi Ten, a midtown eatery specializing in raw seafood, failed its first health inspection with a new owner, Pima County reported Monday.

The restaurant, which for several years held the top spot for sushi in the Tucson Weekly’s annual "Best of Tucson" survey, amassed 11 critical food-safety violations during an inspection last Wednesday. Critical violations are those that carry the risk of spreading food-borne illness, and an eatery receives a provisional rating if a county sanitarian notices five or more of them.

Sushi Ten, 4500 E. Speedway, will be reinspected within 10 days, said Sharon Browning, manager of the county Consumer Health and Food Safety unit.

Sushi Ten’s owner, David Lam, who took over the restaurant in May, said many of the violations stemmed from his employees not being fully aware of Pima County’s health code. He said he plans to attend a county class to learn more about safe food preparation and to educate his employees.

Most of the violations were corrected during the course of the inspection, Lam said.

The violations included employees failing to wash their hands after handling raw food or dirty dishes, food not being kept at the proper temperature, and potentially hazardous food not being properly date-marked.

Source:

1. Synder, O.P. (2000A). Sushi rice HACCP. Hospitality Institute of Technology and Management.

It’s time to close your doors

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It is amazing what one can find during a routine restaurant inspection from temperature abuse of food to pest control problems. Rarely, however, does the owner of a restaurant decide to shut down to correct any problems as in Smart Alec’s Intelligent Food restaurant.

The Daily Californian writes

 On Wednesday, several students noticed that Smart Alec’s Intelligent Food restaurant had closed its doors for a short period of time. The decision to temporarily shut down the restaurant was made by the owner Stephanie Dodson after a routine visit from a health inspector revealed a health violation.

The health inspector from the City of Berkeley’s Environmental Health Division was doing a routine check to make sure that the restaurant was in compliance with Berkeley health codes.

"Our inspector was in the field (Wednesday) and visited Smart Alec’s," said Manuel Ramirez, the manager of the Environmental Health Division. "He visited Smart Alec’s for three hours."

The inspector found evidence of rat droppings near the cash registers. All other areas of the restaurant were in compliance with the city’s health codes.

Dodson said as soon as the health inspector informed her of the issue, she decided to close Smart Alec’s for an hour and a half.

"There were some signs of some activity, and we noticed it immediately and addressed it immediately," Dodson said. "I made the judgement call that we needed to (shut down)."