An Edmonton restaurant owner has been banned from being a part of the food industry for three years because of repeated food safety violations.
The owner-operator of China BBQ, 57-year-old John Zee Ng, repeatedly stored barbecued meat and other foods at improper temperatures and spent more time in concealing the illegal practice from inspectors. This was Ng’s fourth related conviction. He along with his wife and son and his Company were fined a record $51,520 in 2008.
The Delta Edmonton Centre Suite Hotel is a nice enough place. I stayed there a while ago, in February, and I’ve never been so cold in my life. Look at a map. Saskatoon was almost as cold but Edmonton is farther north.
Not so sure about the food safety culture, after the owner, the head chef, and the food and beverage director were hit with fines Friday totaling $15,000 for operating its kitchen despite a closure order.
The Edmonton Sun reports that provincial court Judge Paul Sully said,
“I recognize that food preparation is a very serious matter on the one hand and, on the other hand, I recognize this was a result of a fire and will not likely happen again.”
Court heard health inspectors closed the main kitchen at the downtown hotel in October after a fire in a transformer room led to the kitchen having no running water, however staff continued to prepare meals using a board room.
A health inspector discovered kitchen staff were cooking meat dishes in the fifth-floor boardroom using roasters and had crock pots containing prepared rice dishes.
Court heard the conditions were not sanitary, there were issues with food temperatures, there was no liquid soap or paper towels for hand washing and there was no equipment for cleaning or sanitizing utensils and other items.
Alberta Health Services prosecutor Rob O’Neill said,
“Closed means closed. When the health department shuts you down, you don’t go behind their back and operate somewhere else.”
I don’t know what a Ring Pop is but the candy (right) probably shouldn’t contain metal.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is investigating after a Calgary boy found pieces of metal in two Ring Pops bought at an Ogden corner store.
Dean Anderson and his son Sloan, 11, stopped at the Bella Food Store on Ogden Rd. on Sunday to buy a Ring Pop candy.
“He took a lick on it and immediately flinched and said ‘ouch.’ We examined it and picked out a little piece of metal. It scratched his tongue.”
So he let his son go back to the store to get a second Ring Pop and when he opened it, found another piece of metal.
“It was jagged in shape, not like a pin.”
A spokeswoman for the CFIA confirmed Wednesday night the agency is looking into the matter.
I’m taking over the handwashing blogging today while Megan recovers from the devastating 2-1 win by Pittsburgh over Detroit to win Lord Stanley’s cup.
I’m talking about hockey.
And I’m not sure Megan cared, but I did. Amy’s crushed.
Albert Amgar in France just e-mailed me about a new handwashing campaign being run by the French Ministry of Health. There are lots of pretty pictures available at http://www.sante-sports.gouv.fr/dossiers/sante/mission-mains-propres/IMG/pdf/Recap_affiches2.pdf
Albert was kind enough to translate one of the posters – it’s below. His English is a lot better than my French. But in honor of Albert, and Amy the French professor, and Katie who’s in Jemaine and Bret’s hometown of Wellington, New Zealand, I also once again present, Foux da fa fa (below).
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The Canadian province of Alberta will spend $16 million to promote handwashing..jpg)
Calgary Herald columnist Don Braid says your mother always told you to wash your hands, but she never tried to charge you $16 million for the advice.
Braid adds that the recipients of this advice will be the province’s many thousands of health-care employees. Didn’t they listen to their mothers?
Asked what all that money would buy, Health Minister Dave Hancock shrugged, sort of, and said, "sinks."