Tag Archives: Toronto

Toronto shuts restaurant after rat sighting

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The rats must have seen the Stephen Colbert bear-visiting-Subway bit cause they showed up for a video performance in a Toronto Chinatown restaurant last night.

A passerby originally posted a photo of the rat-in-the-restaurant to blogto.com. Video footage soon followed.

The Toronto Star reports,

Inspectors visited Happy Seven, a Chinese restaurant on Spadina Ave. known for late-night munchies, yesterday after seeing the video, but did not find any signs of vermin.

The restaurant passed an inspection on Oct. 2, and public records show it was inspected an average three times per year.

In February, someone photographed a rat in the window of the Dumpling House, about a block south of Happy Seven. The restaurant was forced to close while it disinfected the premises and called a pest control company. Between clean-up expenses and the temporary closure, the restaurant lost about $10,000, a manager said at the time. It has since re-opened.
 

Listeria in cheese from Toronto shop sickened pregnant woman

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On Aug. 29, 2008, Ping Chiu, owner of Cheese Magic in Kensington Market, had to throw out $1,000 worth of cheese and wasn’t happy about it.

"According to the health inspector, it was listeria. Although I was told by two big cheese suppliers that it can’t be listeria."

It was listeria.

“Health officials confirmed Tuesday that product sold at a popular Kensington Market cheese shop was the source of the listeria bacterium that sickened a pregnant customer.

“Cheese Magic at 182 Baldwin St. was closed down last week after a regular customer fell ill after contracting listeriosis. Health inspectors also claim they found cat and mouse droppings in a food area of the store, mould growth inside a walk-in cooler, and products stored at incorrect temperatures.

“The business has since reopened after inspectors found it had met all safety requirements when they revisited the shop.”

For some bizarre reason, Dr. Barbara Yaffe, an Associate Medical Officer of Health for Toronto Public Health, felt it necessary to downplay the risk of listeria, especially for pregnant women, rather than shout it from the rooftops.

“Keep in mind that the risk from listeriosis is low for healthy individuals. Those most at risk of developing serious illness are pregnant women, the elderly, and those with weak immune systems."

Thanks. My pregnant wife will keep that in mind. So will the pregnant woman who got sick. At some point Canadian health types will have an honest discussion with consumers at risk without worrying if they will offend industry.
 

Toronto Chinatown restaurant reopens

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Doug posted the initial story about this eatery last week.  The Toronto Star is reporting today that the "Rat-plagued" Dumpling House at 328 Spadina Ave. is now open again.

The Star reports that the restaurant was closed over the long weekend and management was told it would have to comply with health regulations, including disinfecting the premises and contacting a pest-control operator.

Michael Chu, the manager of the Dumpling House was cited as saying he wanted to deal with the vermin problem, adding,"If the city didn’t shut us down, I would have closed." 

The staff reportedly spent the weekend "bleaching" tables, counters, containers and utensils. Chu hired a pest control operator to set traps.
The best part (and not really surprising) of the story to me is this:

While the incident will cost Chu around $10,000 in cleanup and closing costs, he says he’s not concerned. Even with a sign outside alerting people to the infestation, he had to turn people away. "I have gotten calls of support all day. It’s touching. I just want to cry."

Wonder how much of an effect posting restaurant grades/advisories really has on consumer preferences (especially if it is your favourite spot).

Toronto Chinatown restaurant closed after rat photos surface

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The National Post reported Friday that Toronto public health authorities shut down one of Chinatown’s most prominent restaurants after a passerby took a photo of rats on a countertop.

Passerby Vivian Hui said rats were visible through a window of the Dumpling House Restaurant yesterday afternoon, adding,

"I noticed what I thought was a cat on the counter inside Dumpling House but it turned out to be four or five rats piled on top of each other eating from a bowl of flour or something."

She e-mailed her boyfriend, Matt Alexander, who alerted health authorities. He also sent the photo to blogto.com, a popular Toronto city blog.

Toronto Public Health said inspectors went to the restaurant immediately, saw evidence of an infestation, and shut the restaurant down.

A manager who answered the phone at the restaurant said they agreed with health inspectors that the restaurant needed to be shut down, adding,

"I fully agree. If there’s a problem, some indication, we have to take it seriously. We have pest control guys working on the case right now. … ‘We have a very good reputation.  That’s why we are taking this very seriously. I think [this shutdown] may affect business for a very short time, but not very much because our cleaning conditions are good."

The manager said he had never seen rats himself in the restaurant, and said any rat problem is not confined to Dumpling House. He said downtown has a rat problem generally, and the city needs to do something about it. Same as New York.

Rabies outbreak in Toronto

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Reuters is reporting that a rabies alert was sent across Canada Monday after a puppy sold at a Toronto-area flea market tested positive, the first outbreak of rabies in the Toronto area in more than 20 years.

Toronto health officials said the eight-week-old border collie, which has died, was from a group of 12 puppies at the market. The other 11 dogs are under quarantine.

The mother of the border collie, from a farm in Eastern Ontario, has also died after contacting the virus from a rabid skunk.

Howard Shapiro, associate medical officer of health at Toronto Public Health, said at least 80 Toronto-area people, who came in contact with the animals, have had to get rabies shots. More than 900 people have contacted a hotline set up since the disease was found in one of the animals.