Dirty dining in Vegas

A double dose of Dirty Dining, Las Vegas-style.

 Darcy Spears has a tie for us tonight, with two restaurants just two blocks apart.
Darcy: Hi… Oh!  Don’t turn around and walk away!

vegasIt’s a common reaction when Contact 13 shows up, health inspection in hand and full of questions.

Bund Shanghai restaurant on Decatur and Spring Mountain was hit with 36 demerits and a C grade.

Inspectors found visibly dirty food contact surfaces, old food debris on the can opener and meat slicer and a dirty ice machine. 

There was also heavy debris on the floor under kitchen equipment, a badly stained cutting board, and no hair restraints for food handlers.

“A lot of things I didn’t know,” said temporary manager Angela Liu. 

She says she’s not used to overseeing the kitchen staff and admits she didn’t check everything the night before their unannounced inspection.

Darcy: That’s a lot of stuff that was wrong.
Angela: Yeah, lot of stuff wrong, yeah, so, I tell them, you know.  I tell them and we now fix it–everything.

Inspectors also found a full handsink leaking dirty water.  And food in the prep table not protected from contamination. 

Angela takes us back to show us what is now a much cleaner kitchen.
She says the owner made it clear that he never wants to see another “C” grade.

Angela: If C again, they all lose their job.
Darcy: That’s it.  Everyone’s job’s on the line.

She shows us how everything is now labeled and double-covered to keep inspectors happy and customers healthy.

Darcy: It’s about food safety.
Angela: Yeah, food safety.  Right.  It’s very serious. Oh, my god. (she pauses to swat away a fly buzzing around her face.)
Darcy: You don’t want a fly in here, do you?

Thai Original BBQ on Jones and Flamingo was shut down with 36 demerits due to an imminent health hazard.  Inspectors found them operating without hot water. 

Employees called the boss and handed the phone to Darcy Spears.  The boss tries to say the only problem was a broken water heater.

Darcy on phone: Serena, it wasn’t just that.  That was definitely the reason that you got shut down as opposed to just getting a C grade, but the health inspection is four pages long.

For starters, the grease trap was leaking onto the floor and an uncovered drain pan was about to overflow. 

There was heavy grease build-up.  Most of the equipment was dirty.  And the knobs on the stove were caked with old food debris.

Floors and ceilings were dirty. 

Raw beef and chicken were stored over cooked noodles. 

And there was a fly infestation in the storage room.  You can see a whole bunch of them on a box of foam cups and crawling all over the ceiling.

It looked like a bunch of flies had hatched.

The boss says they weren’t having the pest control company visit often enough. 

She allowed employees to show us around that storage room and the kitchen, which appears to be all cleaned up.

UK FSA publishes local authority food enforcement info

The information provided by local authorities and compiled by the UK Food Standards Agency, gives a detailed breakdown of enforcement activity across the country.

Monty_Python_reuni_2738729bThe figures for 2014/15 show a continuing trend of increasing compliance levels across the UK.

David Hart, Head of Local Authority Enforcement and Policy Unit, said: ‘I am pleased to see that the figures this year show business hygiene compliance levels are continuing to improve with 93.0% now broadly compliant with hygiene law – this equates to having a food hygiene rating of 3, 4 or 5. The improvement in broad compliance levels was seen in all four countries.’

In Wales the improvement has been more pronounced, increasing over the past three years to 94% from 88% in 2012/13.

For Northern Ireland, the returns covered only the first three quarters of 2014/15. This was agreed, in view of the need for local authorities to focus on preparations for the local government reorganisation, effective from 1 April 2015.

The trend for local authorities to target food hygiene and standards activities at higher risk establishments, rather than carrying out due interventions at lower risk establishments, has continued across the UK. There was a slight reduction in interventions overall – down by 0.8% on the number reported in 2013/14. And there was a further reduction in local authority professional staffing levels – down 3.9% on 2013/14 levels.

The statistics in the report will help the FSA consider  how best to support  its local authority partners.

The FSA monitors local authority performance through Local Authority Enforcement Monitoring System (LAEMS) returns and reports on an annual basis.

Here’s Bobby: Color code grades for restaurants in Dubai next year

By early next year, Dubai Municipality will roll out its color coding system to grade the level of hygiene and food safety in food outlets, a municipality official told Gulf News.

bobby.bittman.sctv.eugeneThe new grading system will affect 14,000 food establishments in Dubai, including restaurants, cafeterias, catering companies and food manufacturers. “By the beginning of 2016, as early as January, all food establishments will have their inspection ratings on display for customers to see. This system will, in turn, increase transparency and ensure the quality of eateries,” Bobby Krishna (right, not exactly as shown), principal food inspection officer at Dubai Municipality, told Gulf News.

This is the first time such a colour coded scheme will be implemented in the country, and the initiative will complement the role of the municipality’s 70 inspectors who are responsible for monitoring hygiene standards at food outlets.

Sultan Ali Al Taher, head of the Food Inspection Section, said the coding of food outlets will be Dubai’s new system to improve food safety standards. The colour card will be divided into five different categories — green, light green, yellow, red and white — each with its own points to grade the standard of each food establishment.

Dubai Municipality’s ratings will award a green card to eateries that score 95 and above, while a light green card will indicate a satisfactory rating that records less than five minor violations — equivalent to a rating from 90 to 94. A yellow card indicating a conditional pass will be issued when there is either one major violation or a maximum of seven minor violations, which will be scored from 75 to 89.

powell_krishna_feb_12“With this one colour-grading code, we can increase the efficiency of restaurants and also reduce non-compliance issues, as it is normal for any food regulatory system to face instances where food outlets do not comply with safety standards,” Krishna said (left, me in Dubai 2012).

Currently, approximately 200 outlets have been awarded the A-grade green cards, which reflect their high rating with no records of violations during routine municipal inspections.

He explained that countries around the world have already adopted a similar approach where it has been made mandatory for food outlets to display their grade as awarded by regulatory authorities. “We have copied the best global practices and adapted them,” said Krishna.

Toronto uses a red-yellow-green system.

Going public: Chipotle involved in 4th outbreak this year that was kept secret

Lynne Terry of The Oregonian writes, Chipotle has had three known outbreaks this year, including the most recent one in Oregon and Washington. But there was also a fourth in Seattle that put two people in the hospital.

chipotle.BSIt was essentially kept secret. Health officials, who investigated the outbreak, did not inform the public.

“It took us a while to make the connection between the sick people and Chipotle,” James Apa, spokesman for King County Public Health, said in an email. “By the time we were able to make an association with Chipotle, the outbreak was over.”

A total of five were sickened after eating at a Chipotle restaurant at 1415 Broadway, according to Bill Marler, a Seattle food safety litigator representing one of those who got sick. He said his client only contacted him recently in wake of the latest outbreak.

Like the latest outbreak, it involved E. coli.

The five people dined at Chipotle in late July, Apa said. Health officials were never able to determine the culprit.

Restaurant inspectors found no problems at the restaurant.

Source food that is microbiologically safe.

And stop with the BS.

A-B-C disclosure system for Boston

Boston, you’re a big city with a strange accent, why haven’t you figured out restaurant inspection disclosure until now?

restaurant_food_crap_garbage_10Regardless, Boston plans to soon start assigning letter grades to publicly rate the cleanliness and food safety practices for all restaurants and other food-service vendors in the city, giving diners a visible new tool to confidently choose where to eat.

Officials hope to launch a pilot version of the grading system in early January. For the first year, restaurant letter grades — either an A, B, or C — would be posted online only.

But after that, as long as the program’s roll-out goes smoothly, the grades would be posted in storefront windows of every restaurant across Boston, resembling systems New York and other cities have been using for years.

“We want to make it as simple as we can for people to understand the health conditions at our restaurants,” said William Christopher, head of Boston’s Inspectional Services Department, which will oversee the program.

Christopher said he went to New York City recently to review that city’s program, which began in 2010. He also has researched grading systems in other cities, including Los Angeles, which has been issuing grades since 1997.

Locally, Newton launched a similar restaurant-rating program last month.

A Globe report in May detailed how a review by city inspectors 2014 found serious health code violations at nearly half of Boston’s food service vendors, including restaurants, food trucks, and cafeterias. However, Christopher said the city had been considering the grading system idea prior to that report.

Christopher cited how officials in other cities have said their grading systems have spurred improvements: reducing health violations, improving public awareness about food safety, and even boosting business for restaurants, by increasing competition for owners to keep cleaner stores.

“Everyone wants to be an A rating, so it motivates restaurateurs,” Christopher said in an interview Monday.

But such systems have also faced criticism. Some have questioned assertions that the grading systems lead to improved conditions, and others have accused the ratings of being arbitrary.

smiley.faces.denmark.rest.inspectionBob Luz, president and chief executive of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association, reacted cautiously to the new initiative. He said such rating systems can oversimplify the results of restaurant inspections, which he noted the City of Boston already makes available online in more detail.

And the restaurant association thingy would be expected to say nothing else, using talking points from the National Restaurant Association. Go back and look at the crap that was hurled when Toronto adopted a red-yellow-green system in 2001 (or 02?).

I prepared a court brief on why the system was valid, but it never went to court because once a system is introduced, it’s hard to get rid of.

We’ve spent the last 15 years trying to determine the most effective disclosure systems.

Restaurant association types could do the same.

Doggy hardware: Friendly policy questioned after dog bites girl at Australian outlet

Bunnings is the Home Depot of Australia.

I’ve always been a fan of doggy dining, where canines can accompany folks to a restaurant, but only with a bunch of caveats:

  • only outside;
  • management can decide whenever they want to evict a dog; and,
  • the adults involved aren’t entitled douchebags.

bunningsJust days after the popular home improvement chain confirmed that customers were now allowed to take their pooches inside stores, a Melbourne child has allegedly been bitten on the leg.

Five-year-old Madeline Hungerford is recovering at home after an incident at the Bunnings store in Melton yesterday.

“We just don’t think dogs should be there,” Ms Hungerford told 3AW’s Neil Mitchell this morning.

“Bunnings on a Sunday is really busy … It’s just not a good environment for a dog.”

She said the family had been walking through the store when their little girl was set upon.

“We were walking past two little dogs, one was being patted at the time and Madeline tried to pat the other one,” Ms Hungerford said.

But before her little girl could get within patting range, she said, the dog — believed to be a Jack Russell terrier — allegedly bit her on the leg.

“It’s broken the skin just below her knee,” she said.

“She’s got two bite marks that broke the skin, a couple of bite marks around the side and bruising and swelling.”

dogs.playing.poker.velvetIn a cruel twist of fate, Madeline had only just become comfortable around dogs when the incident occurred.

News.com.au revealed on Thursday Bunnings had unveiled a new policy of welcoming pets into stores.

Bunnings operations director Michael Schneider then said that while customers weren’t being encouraged to bring pets inside, “as long as pets are under appropriate control, are not aggressive and do not compromise the safety of our team or customers they are welcome”.

“Our team members have full discretion to deny any pet entry to the store,” he said, adding that assistance animals “have always been and will always be allowed entry into our stores”.

While a majority of readers supported the move in an online poll, some expressed concern.

‘Revolting’ UK takeaway where personal hygiene of workers landed owner hefty fine

Poor personal hygiene of workers, dirty cleaning cloths and food contamination risks have landed a takeaway owner with a hefty fine.

Santino’s in LoftusNasir Butt had a “considerable lack of control” in the running of Santino’s in Loftus, Teesside Magistrates’ Court heard.

When it was first inspected in August last year, officers found the business was not kept clean and in good repair.

Dirty cloths were used to clean areas of the kitchen, while raw meat was stored with ready-to-eat food.

A food handler was found wearing a dirty and damaged bandage, reports the Gazette.

Janine Morgan, prosecuting for Redcar and Cleveland Council, said there was a “risk of contamination from poor personal hygiene, poor food handling procedures and an overall lack of food safety management.”

Butt was not present at the first inspection.

And the court heard he subsequently made efforts to improve the situation.

But when officers paid a return visit, poor conditions were still identified, said Ms Morgan.

The shop was closed in February and is now run by a new owner, the court heard.

And Butt, a father-of-four, is no longer involved in the food industry and works as a painter and decorator.

The 55-year-old, of Eaglescliffe, pleaded guilty to seven offences under health and safety regulations.

Butt was fined £1,000 and ordered to pay costs and charges of £1,025.

Going public (not) Australian style: Chef fined for eating on the job in Adelaide

We all do it — have a nibble here and there while preparing dinner — but a patron at a Glenelg eatery took exception to seeing the chef do it, landing the hungry cook a $2500 fine.

waynes-world-monkeys-might-fly-out1The customer first complained to the waitress.

When the chef continued to eat on the job, the unhappy customer contacted the local council to report the cook’s snacking.

The resulting $2500 penalty made the restaurant the only food outlet in Holdfast Bay to receive a fine in the last financial year.

Council wouldn’t reveal the name of the restaurant fined, saying the fine was punishment enough.

The details of the complainant are also being kept under wrap.

 

‘I dodged a bullet’ E. coli O26 Chipotle victim says he may go vegetarian; that may not help

As the number of E. coli O26 victims creeped to 40, Chris Collins says he has always been selective about where he goes out for a meal. He said he respected Chipotle for its food integrity and animal-welfare policies.

chipotleBut a week after being treated at a hospital for severe intestinal distress, the Lake Oswego, Ore., resident no longer considers the casual Mexican restaurant a safe choice.

Collins was one of at least 39 (now 40) people in Oregon and Washington state to be sickened with E. coli in an outbreak linked to the popular chain.

“The reality is there was waste in my food. Something I can never be able to tell unless I got sick,” he said. “For me, it doesn’t seem to make sense to take that risk again.”

Collins decided to speak out about his experience after reading comments in the press and social media and concluding that people didn’t understand the severity of E. coli.

He also wanted people to understand how many things could go wrong in a restaurant and result in customers getting sick.

“I feel like I dodged a bullet. I’m lucky that I’m in as good health as I am,” said Collins, who works out five to six times a week and loves to hike.

Collins went to urgent care first. They took one look at him and sent him to an emergency room. That’s when it started to get really scary. He didn’t connect his illness to Chipotle until the emergency-room doctor called him the next day.

Now, he’s not willing to eat out at all and he and his wife are seriously considering becoming vegetarians.

Except E. coli, especially the Shiga-toxin producing kind, are everywhere. And investigators are focusing on produce.

It’s not just a meat issue. I’ve seen E. coli infections in very strict vegetarians,” says Niket Sonpal, M.D., assistant clinical professor of gastroenterology at Touro College of Medicine.

Since E. coli is an intestinal bacteria found in humans and animals, it gets spread by poop. If contaminated waste gets into manure or the irrigation water used for crops, the bacteria spreads to the produce. Infected animals can even contaminate a crop by leaving droppings in a field of normally healthy tomatoes and lettuce leaves.

Philly comes clean with inspection data

The Philadelphia Health Department says it has changed its policy and is moving to post restaurant inspection reports as quickly as possible.

Flying+Pig+Recreates+Pink+Floyd+Album+Cover+WPqoHUP18F9lPhilly.com reports the decision announced Monday marks a shift from the department’s long-standing policy of keeping inspection reports secret for 30 days.

The website reports Philadelphia is the only major city in the country to withhold inspection results from the public for a significant length of time.

Health Department spokesman Jeff Moran says the non-disclosure period isn’t required by code and isn’t consistent with the mayor’s open-data policy.

Officials say the withholding period has existed for at least three decades.

The health department inspects about 12,000 food establishments each year, including 5,000 eat-in restaurants.

Those inspections have been an ongoing problem for one restaurant.

Joy Tsin Lau, an institution in Chinatown, has well over 250 health code violations over six years- some deemed serious a public health nuisance.

It’s a history the manager didn’t want to talk about in September.

 “It’s outrageous, I just don’t understand how it’s still open,” says Sammy Green.

She was among one hundred lawyers who got sick with a norovirus after a banquet at Joy Tsin Lau in February.

Sammy says, “It was easily the worst couple days of my life.”

A health department inspection two weeks before the banquet found serious violations including a lack of soap in the employee bathroom.

A lawyer for the restaurant refused comment.

Richard Kim is representing Sammy in a lawsuit against the restaurant. “It’s a sordid history, it’s amazing to see that a business can operate with these kinds of violations in place,” Kim says.

One week after the banquet, another inspection found 41 violations. But customers wouldn’t have known because the inspection reports were kept secret for 30 days to give restaurants a chance to appeal.