Despite the coronavirus pandemic, restaurants are, according to Jeff Weinsier of Local 10 news, still operating for take-out and delivery, and inspectors are out in full force.
Local 10 News’ Jeff Weinsier looked into the numbers and found that over 1,000 inspections have been made in Miami-Dade, Broward, Monroe and Palm Beach Counties during the month of April.
Sonny’s Famous Steak Hogies in Hollywood has been a staple in the community for over 60 years. Its dining room has become a storage area, but customers are keeping them extremely busy with take-out and delivery orders.
John Nigro of Sonny’s makes every one of his employees sign a copy of the restaurant’s rules, to ensure everything remains sanitary and follows the proper health guidelines. He knows a health inspector could pop in at any moment.
The good news is that no kitchens have been ordered shut over the past two weeks.
The student, who attended Polo Park Middle School, told a school administrator that he was talking loudly in class Oct. 14 when teacher Guyette Duhart told him he needed to have his mouth washed out with soap, the investigation found.
Duhart then grabbed a bottle of hand sanitizer from her desk, investigators said, and told the student to approach her.
Six students told investigators that Duhart then pumped hand sanitizer into the student’s mouth, a district investigation found.
Duhart admitted to holding the sanitizer near his mouth but claimed the student grabbed the bottle himself and pumped it into his own mouth.
The student spit onto the floor and left the classroom, the investigation found. When he returned, Duhart let him go to a bathroom to rinse his mouth.
The school district concluded the allegation against Duhart was substantiated. The school board on Wednesday approved a 10-day suspension without pay.
The National Institutes of Health recommends that people who swallow it seek medical help.
One ad, as noted by the Miami Herald, was posted on Facebook’s Marketplace with “garrobo,” another word for lizard used in Latin American countries, being sold for $1.
Iguanas have been spotted all over Florida grounds, parking lots and pools after low temperatures in the 30s and 40s F hit the Sunshine State.
The National Weather Service on Tuesday warned locals about “iguanas falling from trees” — not something they typically forecast.
Low temperatures stun — they don’t necessarily kill — iguanas, which are an invasive species in Florida.
If the animals are hanging out in trees when they’re stunned, they lose their grip and fall to the ground below.
When temperatures warm up, most of the iguanas that were stunned are expected to wake up. Because iguanas are cold-blooded, the cold weather causes their metabolism to slow down. The reptiles become lethargic as temperatures drop from the warm weather they’re used to.
Iguanas, or “chicken of the trees,” are considered an “economical source of protein” by the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.
The individual worked at the restaurant between Oct. 4 and Oct. 20, an investigation found.
Anyone who frequented the restaurant within the time period and has not previously received a hepatitis A vaccination is advised to do so as soon as possible. Those who have previously had a hepatitis A vaccination do not need to take any additional action.
A 24-hour hotline has also been set up for people who have questions about hepatitis A. It can be reached at 813-307-8004.
Doctor’s offices, pharmacies and state and local health departments offer hepatitis A vaccinations. Find out more at vaccines.gov.
According to a food safety inspection report, an inspector found a live, large gray rat last week hiding in a meat slicer on a shelf in the back of Laurenzo’s Italian Market in North Miami Beach, Florida.
The inspector ordered a “stop use” on all food processing areas, the receiving area and on the receiving of food items.
Crystal Chen of News 4 Jax reports just four months after opening its doors at the Strand near the Town Center, Red Robin failed an inspection with 19 health violations.
Red Robin is known for its burgers, brews and, of course, bottomless fries.
But that wasn’t the focus during a visit from the health inspector last week.
The restaurant was cited for six high-priority violations, including live flies found in the kitchen, food prep area and bar.
Raw sewage was found on the ground near the back door, and a stop sale was issued for potentially hazardous food like fish and milk that were at the wrong temperature.
In a second visit, two days later, the restaurant only had two violations, both regarding paperwork.
The restaurant was not shut down, and this was its first failed inspection.
Management and the company’s media relations department have not responded to requests for comment on the inspection report.
I spoke with my friend Gary this a.m., and told him once again how much I appreciated him throwing a few bucks my way while I actually tried to think about food safety issues.
He asked if I was going to the International Association for Food Protection meeting in Tampa this year.
I said, nah, I’m not a prof, no funding, although it would be fun to catch up with everyone, and stay at Anna Maria Island once again, about 90 minutes from Tampa.
We live in Brisbane, we’re used to Florida in the summer.
But the surrounding restaurants sorta suck.
The Wicked Taco Cantina, 101 7th St. N., Bradenton Beach, was cited on May 24 for holding cold food at temperatures above 41 degrees, including pico de gallo, guacamole and sour cream. The establishment also was cited for improper hand washing procedures. Per the report: “Server handled soiled dishes or utensils and then picked up plated food, served food, or prepared a beverage without washing hands. Observed employee handle dirty dishes from customers table, then prepare a personal beverage at soda machine. Observed employee use ice scoop. No hand washing observed. Observed server handle dirty dishes from customers table, sweep floor then make a customer’s beverage. No hand washing observed.”
The hand-washing violation was again noted on an inspection two days later. In the May 26 inspection report, the inspector said corrective action was taken.
On Thursday, inspectors visited The Beach House, 200 N. Gulf Drive, Bradenton Beach, to check on a violation they cited the restaurant for during a May 19 inspection: “Potentially hazardous (time/temperature control for safety) food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit,” per the report. Items in the cooler included dairy mix, raw shrimp and tomato sauce. Similar issues were observed with other coolers in the restaurant. The inspectors noted that corrective action was taken on the same day.
When I was an undergrad, about 1984, when I didn’t have labs in the afternoon – which I did 3 days a week – I’d toddle home to Neeve St. in Guelph (that’s in Ontario, Canada, as I explained to a new neighbor I met on the morning walk to school today) and cross the train tracks to the strip club to eat lunch and read the paper (this was before, ipads, iphones, computers, whatever, we all bled the ink).
I didn’t really pay attention to the strippers.
I never went at night, because it was full of drunk bogans.
The Border Herald reports that a popular strip club in Jacksonville, Florida has been closed until further notice after several dancers contracted diarrhea last Friday night. The cause of the incident, which remains under investigation, has been initially linked to a contaminated buffet at the venue. While the investigation continues, the venue has not been named.
According to reports by local media, the strip club was nearly full on Friday night when the incident occurred, and both staff and customers were reported to have eaten from the free buffet, which included the usual selection of ribs, chicken and deep-fried shrimp.
While the results of the lab analysis are yet to come back, one source familiar with the investigation told reported that bad shrimp was the most likely cause is the diarrhea. “Typically shrimp are involved in cases like this, particularly when they are not cleaned thoroughly.”
That’s bullshit. It’s improper holding temperatures, probably Staph or C. perfringens (I spell it out so I can commend myself on being able to spell it). Or noro.
Patrons at the venue who were sitting near the stage were the most directly affected by the incident, which occurred close to 11pm. According to a witness at the venue, three dancers were performing on separate poles when the first sign of trouble emerged.
“At first I picked up a bad smell; I thought maybe the guy next to me had farted,” said the witness, who declined to be named. “However, the smell got worse and I noticed that a lot of other guys were looking around to see what it was.”
It was at this point the first dancer to suffer from diarrhea was unable to control her bowels any longer, and ‘a stream of brown liquid soon gushed over the stage,’ according to the witness. “It was absolutely disgusting,” he told journalists. “A number of guests immediately puked. I personally ran for the exit, I lost all interest in the show.”
The other dancers on stage also suffered from diarrhea soon after and were forced to abandon their performance. “They had a hard time getting off the stage,” said one witness, who stayed to watch after the incident. “High heels and diarrhea really don’t mix.”
Some guests who had been enjoying the show also contracted diarrhea and there was a rush on the men’s bathroom, which unfortunately did not have enough stalls to cope with the sudden influx in demand.
Cleaners who were hired to deal with the mess reportedly were shocked at the condition of the venue. “Strip clubs are generally dirty places, but this was on a whole new level,” said one of the cleaning staff. “In my time, I’ve seen faeces in a urinal once or twice, but never in the sinks.”
In an effort to compensate customers for the incident, the venue’s management took to social media to offer free entry to any guests who had been at the club on Friday night. Management also noted that the free buffet will not be available until further notice.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are working with the Florida Department of Health and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to support an investigation of a dead bat that was found in a packaged salad purchased from a grocery store in Florida. Two people in Florida reported eating some of the salad before the bat was found. The bat was sent to the CDC rabies lab for laboratory testing because bats in the United States sometimes have been found to have this disease. The deteriorated condition of the bat did not allow for CDC to definitively rule out whether this bat had rabies.
Transmission of rabies by eating a rabid animal is extremely uncommon, and the virus does not survive very long outside of the infected animal. CDC is supporting Florida local and state health officials in evaluating the people who found the bat in the salad. In this circumstance, the risk of rabies transmission is considered to be very low, but because it isn’t zero, the two people who ate salad from the package that contained the bat were recommended to begin post-exposure rabies treatment. Both people report being in good health and neither has any signs of rabies. CDC is not aware of any other reports of bat material found in packaged salads.
On April 8, 2017, Fresh Express issued a recall of a limited number of cases of Organic Marketside Spring Mix. The salads were sold in a clear container with production code G089B19 and best-if-used-by date of APR 14, 2017 located on the front label. The recalled salads were distributed only to Walmart stores located in the Southeastern region of the United States. All remaining packages of salad from the same lot have been removed from all store locations where the salad was sold.
The company said in a statement it worked quickly with officials to remove the entire batch of salads from store shelves, and only one line of its products had been affected.
“Fresh Express takes matters of food safety very seriously and rigorously complies with all food safety regulations including the proscribed Good Agricultural Practices.”
Maybe install bat filters as the lettuce goes through a wash?
In a newly published study, researchers artificially contaminated food with salmonella. They then tested the food samples using Salmonella-specific antibodies combined with a unique signal amplification technique. Their test found salmonella present after 15 hours and removed other microorganisms that sometimes clutter laboratory results. This is shorter than the two to three days it takes to detect salmonella in a culture, the study shows.
“The test has great potential as a simple monitoring system for foodborne pathogens in food samples, which can improve food safety and public health,” said Soohyoun Ahn, a UF/IFAS assistant professor of food science and human nutrition and lead author of the study. “Even with all the strategies used to minimize contamination of beef and poultry, they are still one of the major food vehicles for salmonella.”
The test would be suitable for any government research laboratory or industry that routinely tests for Salmonella, Ahn said.
Ahn sees the salmonella test showing similar potential for faster detection of other pathogens you can get from eating certain contaminated foods. A similar test has been developed for E. coli in milk and ground beef, and it performed well, she said.
The study is published in the Journal of Food Safety.
