D.C. Target’s grocery area shut down after health violations, including rodent droppings

Posted on April 11, 2015 by Douglas Powell

D.C. residents who like to do their grocery shopping at Target need to find another place to purchase their food for now.

The D.C. Department of Health suspended the retailer’s license at its Columbia Heights store after it failed a health inspection Thursday afternoon. Inspectors found a number of violations throughout the store, including rodent droppings in the back storage area, according to Ivan Torres, a spokesman for the D.C. Department of Health.

The fresh grocery area of the store and the pizza cafe, which serves hot prepared food, are closed. All other parts of the store are still open.

“At Target, food safety and quality are a top priority,” a Target spokesman wrote in an email. “We take this issue very seriously and are working with officials to address any concerns as quickly as possible.”

5 sick from Salmonella: Idaho restaurant closed

Posted on April 10, 2015 by Douglas Powell

The Central District Health Department on Thursday suspended the food establishment license of a Boise restaurant linked to five cases of Salmonella poisoning.

Pho Tam, located at 1098 N. Orchard St., was shut down after health inspectors found two critical violations of food safety regulations and two other violations.

“Due to the violations identified today, we determined they were not demonstrating proper practices to prevent foodborne illness so we suspended their food establishment license,” health department spokeswoman Christine Myron said in an email sent to The Idaho Statesman.

In her email, Myron did not identify the specific violations discovered Thursday. She was out of the office and not available for questioning late Thursday afternoon.

No one answered the phone at the restaurant early Thursday evening.

The closure order came just a day after health department officials held one-on-one education training with the Vietnamese restaurant’s employees on proper food safety procedures.

Pho Tam, which has operated since 2010, has 15 days to contact the health department to request a compliance conference to discuss with owner Long Doan the major risk factors that were found and develop a plan to control the risk factors that could make customers sick.

At an inspection last June, health inspectors found five violations, two of them critical. The restaurant was written up for inadequate hand-washing facilities for workers and improper cleaning and sanitizing of food contact surfaces, both critical violations. The other violations dealt with thermometers, dishwashing machinery and the restaurant’s physical facilities.

KTVB visited Pho Tam Thursday, and the owners were on scene. They declined to talk on camera about the suspension of their license and, in fact, told our reporter on scene that the restaurant was closed for renovation.

Over 100 sick: Probable Norovirus shuts Toby Carvery in UK

Posted on April 10, 2015 by Douglas Powell

I never knew what a carvery was until I went to the UK in 2010 with Amy and a young Sorenne.

We visited my great-uncle Keith in Newport, Wales, and I drove us to the carvery for lunch, and almost killed us because they drive on the wrong side of the road in the UK and those menacing traffic circles.

We ate at a carvery the other night while taking a couple of days at the beach: worst meal we ever had, but the line-dancing display by the retirees at Coolangatta was awesome.

This dude (right, exactly as shown) went with a buddy in a plastic kayak to go snorkeling at Cook Island, decided to put his line out on the way (no rod, just a line), and within 10 minutes landed this long-fined tuna off the beach at Fingal Head.

He said sashimi for dinner, frozen steaks for later.

I said, better get that thing on ice.

And then I thought Amy would kill us driving back through Mt. Tamborine. There’s so much within 100km of Brisbane.

A suspected outbreak of norovirus at a popular city pub and restaurant is believed to have affected large numbers of people across the city as well as visitors and holidaymakers.

The Echo has been inundated with reports from people, including children, the elderly and an eight month pregnant woman, claiming to have visited Toby Carvery at the Exeter Arms in Rydon Lane, Middlemoor, between Monday, March 30, and Easter Sunday, April 5, and since becoming ill with sickness and diarrhea for several days.

It is thought the number of people who may have been affected could be in excess of 100.

The restaurant and hotel temporarily closed on Tuesday, April 7, after an investigation led by Environmental Health was launched.

Concerns have also been expressed that the venue failed to close sooner and remained open over the Easter weekend.

A spokesman for Toby Carvery confirmed to the Echo that on Wednesday, April 1, staff became aware that a customer had been suffering from norovirus – the most common stomach bug in the UK.

The spokesman confirmed that a steam clean was subsequently carried out in the restaurant and pub on Thursday after it closed, but normal trading continued over the Easter bank holiday – one of the busiest trading periods of the year.

The spokesman confirmed that on becoming aware of the threat, restaurant officials contacted the Environmental Health department at Exeter City Council, and an officer who visited on Thursday said the restaurant had followed correct safety procedures and could continue to trade.

Environmental Health officers subsequently returned to the restaurant and pub on Tuesday, April 7, after which the restaurant issued a statement on its website announcing the voluntary closure of the restaurant and adjoining hotel until further notice.

Of those affected, one person claimed to have required hospitalisation and countless others reported battling with unpleasant sickness and diarrhoea for many days.

Around 24 staff members at an animal shelter on the outskirts of the city claim to have become ill following a staff meal at the restaurant on March 31, leaving them operating the charity with worrying low staffing numbers.

Will Jennings, from Budleigh Salterton, said he visited The Exeter Arms on the afternoon of Wednesday, April 1, and by the following evening had started to vomit violently every 10 minutes for several hours.

Mr Jennings said he has suffered with a rare autoimmune disease called Behçets Syndrome with neurological involvement for two years and, similar to the elderly and very young, is particularly vulnerable to the effects of any illness, infection or virus which can be a case of “life or death” for him.

He said he had been left “very frail” by the sickness and three more of his party of six were also taken ill with the same symptoms.

Following medical advice, he said he was rushed to hospital by ambulance in a very poorly, semi-conscious state.

“I was suffering substantial pain and dehydration,” he recalled. “I was treated with intravenous fluids, anti sickness and morphine for pain relief.”

Don’t eat (dog) poop in restaurant: UK pub fined £14K

Posted on April 9, 2015 by Douglas Powell

The owner of an East Yorkshire pub has appeared in court after a diner found dog excrement on the restaurant floor.

Out-of-date food was also sold to customers and prepared in a mouldy kitchen at The Steer Inn in Wilberfoss.

Darren Crossfield appeared before Beverley Magistrates’ Court, where he and the company, The Steer Inn (Pocklington) Ltd, of which he is the sole director, pleaded guilty to 17 food safety and hygiene offences.

The court heard how food safety officers from East Riding Council visited The Steer Inn in January last year, following a complaint from a diner who had found dog dirt on the floor.

A number of inspections were carried out by officers, who found in the kitchen food that was mouldy and unfit for human consumption.

Food that had exceeded its sell-by date was also being served, while raw meat was being prepared in direct contact with ready-to-eat salad items, posing a serious risk of cross- contamination.

Mr Crossfield, 52, of Elvington, told the court he had taken over the premises with no knowledge of running a kitchen or a restaurant.

He said he had worked in pubs and bars before with no problems but admitted that he had been naive.

Mr Crossfield said he had been led to believe his chef had the necessary food hygiene qualifications.

‘No AA cause I don’t quit’ Cockroaches lead to closure of Jose’s Real Cuban Food in Florida

Posted on April 9, 2015 by Douglas Powell

We’ve driven by this place during our various times in Bradenton on Florida’s Gulf side, and decided to pass.

In the eight years of operating his business, the owner of Jose’s Real Cuban Food Jose Baserva says he has had mostly minor violations resulting from health and food safety inspections.

A recent closure caused by more serious violations isn’t stopping him.

“You know why I don’t go to AA?” owner Jose Baserva said. “Because it’s for quitters, and I’m not quitting. I’m not going anywhere.”

In the past month, Jose’s Real Cuban Food, 8799 Cortez Road W., has been closed temporarily three times by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. Inspectors found at least one high-priority violation during each visit. The state defines high-priority violations as “those which could contribute directly to a foodborne illness or injury.”

“You’re gonna have roaches,” Baserva said. “I’ve never been in a restaurant where I haven’t seen one. We don’t have roaches having dinner with my customers or anything like that.”

Baserva said he hires a professional exterminator for services once per month and sprays pest control himself twice per month.

The most recent closures were spurred by a complaint to state regulators. Complaints led to 11 out of the 13 inspections since April 2013, according to the state database.

Representatives from the state regulators did not respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.

Street food vendors in Hyderabad, India have some food safety issues

Posted on April 7, 2015 by Ben Chapman

I’m a food truck kind of guy, but I prefer to eat from places that have to follow the basic rules of sanitation. In North Carolina mobile food vendors have to be linked up with a physical kitchen (for cooling and prepping food) and even then they are inspected. Keeping food safe in a truck can be done, but it takes vigilance and a sense of hazard identification.

And not using water from a toilet.

Like what the Times of India reported about some street food vendors in Hyderabad, India.

Every sixth Hyderabadi taking street food is falling sick from food-borne infections (whoa, I’d like to see the data -ben), says a study that directly observed the hygienic practices followed by 500 food vendors and small restaurants in different parts of the city.

The most common ailments reported by denizens after eating street food or ‘stale’ food served by some established restaurants are diarrhea, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, reveals a study released to mark the ‘food safety’ theme on World Health Day.

And here’s why: The majority of street food vendors (423 out of 500 surveyed) were found drawing untreated water for cooking from nearby apartments, while only seven were using protective head cover. None were using protective gloves and almost all used nearby shops to dump their raw material overnight.

“Our team, which also communicated with customers, came across around 50 vendors with tobacco addiction, leaving the remnants of the ash on the food being served,” said Dr K Suresh, president of Osmania Medical College Doctors’ Forum, who led the study.

Worse, 15 out of 500 vendors were found drawing water for cooking from toilets of nearby apartments, while almost all were found to skip hand washing after a visit to the toilet or lavatory. This is what the 30-member team of MBBS undergraduates led by Dr Suresh found after analyzing data gathered from street- vendors from December-2014 to February-2015.

I believe the epidemiologists: Boise restaurant linked to Salmonella cases

Posted on April 7, 2015 by Ben Chapman

Last week I spent some time with an old friend who owns a funeral home. Fifteen years ago we spent our time and extra money in the local pub drinking pints and talking trash. As we’ve gotten older our taste has changed; we discussed our chosen professions over a bottle of wine.

As we chatted food safety and death he wanted to know how the disease detectives connected the dots in an outbreak. I gave him a rudimentary explanation of PFGE, genome sequencing, Pulsenet and told him about Bill Keene’s contribution to foodborne epidemiology. He was genuinely interested in learning about how epi folks do their magic, or it may have been the wine.

Here’s today’s example of a cluster of illnesses linked to a restaurant, without a smoking gun, that is garnering further investigation (via the Idaho Statesman).

Five people have reported getting sick from Salmonella poisoning since late February after eating at a Boise restaurant, according to the Central District Health Department.

The agency did not publicly name the eatery Monday, but the owner of Pho Tam on North Orchard Street confirmed to the Idaho Statesman that her Vietnamese restaurant is the one in question.

“I don’t know what happened,” owner Long Doan said. “We try to be careful.”

The most recent sickness took place in mid-March, but wasn’t reported to health officials until Thursday, Health Department spokeswoman Christine Myron said.

Health inspectors last week tested food at the restaurant and did not find any traces of Salmonella or other harmful bacteria, Myron said.

“The cultures that they grew did not come back with any Salmonella, so they’ve not determined a definite source for the Salmonella,” Myron said. “We don’t know exactly how it may have gotten into the food at this point.”

I trust the epi folks.

Don’t eat poop: Feces could have been found in three food samples tested by safety chiefs

Posted on April 6, 2015 by Douglas Powell

Around one-fifth of the samples checked at food outlets in North Lincolnshire last year by safety watchdogs were found to be contaminated.

Among the 150 products tested were cakes, eggs, ice cream, sausages and poultry.

Of the samples, 27 were found to be unsatisfactory, including 12 ready-made prepared dishes.

Three samples were found to contain unsatisfactory levels of Coliforms – a general indication of fecal contamination and three more contained Entero which indicated poor general hygiene at the premises being checked out.

Of 14 samples taken from local takeaways, three were found to be unsatisfactory.

Trevor Laming, assistant director for technical and environment services at North Lincolnshire Council, said: “Examples of poor practices include undercooking, cross contamination, poor cleaning or poor temperature control and time control.

“One sample identified unacceptable levels of Baccilus species which is associated with poorly stored cooked foods and may cause diarrhea and vomiting if bacteria are present in sufficient numbers.”

Mr Laming said the aim was to raise standards rather than increase prosecutions.

U.S. database of food safety inspections

Posted on April 3, 2015 by Douglas Powell

University of Maryland faculty and graduate students in computer science and economics, together with a colleague from UCLA, have created the largest national database of food safety inspection information.

In the U.S., such inspections are done by local public health departments, which can take different approaches to conducting, coding and reporting inspection data. Using this unique new automated database, food service businesses and consumers can monitor and compare food safety practices from outlets across the nation.

The national database was developed by UMD Professor of Computer Science Ben Bederson, UMD Professor of Economics Ginger Jin, UCLA Associate Professor of Business Management Philip Leslie, new Ph.D. graduate Alexander Quinn (computer science) and UMD Ph.D. graduate student Ben Zou (economics).

According to Bederson, who also is UMD’s Associate Provost of Learning Initiatives and Executive Director of its Teaching and Learning Transformation Center, the team’s database uses data robots to automatically collect data from local government websites, and represents a huge leap from local and state databases that are built using manually-collected and sometimes poorly correlated data, and which can easily miss the big picture and have little impact on compliance actions.

“Building our system to reliably collect information from so many different jurisdictions was a formidable engineering challenge,” said Bederson.

Another difficulty was developing normalization algorithms to compare data across jurisdictions where the data is very different. For some web pages, the team had to write custom ‘scrapers’ to get the data, and for others they had to interpret already available databases.

For non-commercial use, the database is publicly available at http://hazelanalytics.com/ at no cost.

Fancy food ain’t safe food: Pakistan polo edition

Posted on April 3, 2015 by Douglas Powell

Expired food, chocked sinks and unhygienic conditions in the kitchen and food storage area have exposed high quality standards claimed by the management of a top restaurant located inside the Polo Ground, Race Course Park.

The shocking truth was unveiled after a team of the Punjab Food Authority led by Food Safety Officer Nadeem Haleem visited the restaurant on Thursday evening. The team faced resistance from the management but it managed to enter the kitchen for inspection. In the meantime, the legal adviser of the restaurant came and asked the PFA team not to ask much questions from the kitchen staff.

PFA officials said the kitchen the eatery, which was considered one of top restaurants, was similar to that an ordinary road-side eatery, dispelling general perception that restaurants serving the elite follow high standards of hygiene and food safety.

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