If you had to make a list of things you wouldn’t want to see in a restaurant kitchen, it’s a good bet that some of them are included in this month’s edition of the Neews, food safety stories that put the eew in news, including one contender that may not have initially sprung to mind: sewage.
Sewage coming up through the floor drains was one of the 53 food safety violations that health inspectors found at China Pearl in St Peterburg, Fla., according to WTSP News. Other violations included: employees not washing their hands and touching ready-to-eat foods when not wearing gloves, a stench wafting from the restroom, temperature violations, food in the handwashing sink, uncovered bins of food on the floor, and more than 300 rodent droppings.
Inspectors made a visit to the restaurant after the health department had receive reports of food poisoning. The restaurant was closed after the inspection.
One of the restaurants in the Vancouver International Airport was closed temporarily for unsanitary conditions and a pest infestation. During their inspection they found a live rat and rodent droppings in so many places they must have been tempted to list instead the places where they did not find any. They found rat droppings on the main food preparation line, the stainless steel food preparation tables, in the deep fryer base, near the handwashing sinks, near the walk-in cooler, on equipment push carts, on top of the commercial dishwasher, and elsewhere. The restaurant was closed temporarily so operators could remove the droppings and sanitize the kitchen surfaces.
Rounding out this month’s of the Neews is the bar and restaurant in Asheville, N.C., that had to close for cleaning after a heavy metal band threw pig’s blood on the stage, walls and curtains during its performance. The thoughtless stunt put the restaurant’s staff of 45 out of work for 45 days, according to a report from the Associated Press.
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