A cease and desist order has been issued to Hawaii Malama Meals restaurant for multiple food safety issues, according to a news release from the Hawaii Department of Health. The restaurant was preparing and providing meals on O’ahu, Kaua’i, and Molokai. The restaurant is located at 91-100 Farrington Highway
Peter Oshiro, chief of the Department of Hawaii Food Safety Brand said n a statement, “The operation had multiple food safety issues as it prepared and packaged hot meals on O‘ahu and shipped them to the neighbor islands without proper temperature controls. Without proper controls, the risk of an outbreak of food illness is high and could have a devastating impact especially on those who are elderly and have underlying conditions.”
An inspection was conducted at Malama Meals restaurant in response to a complaint on May 15, 2020. Inspectors observed numerous violations, indicating that the owner didn’t have managerial control over the food being produced. For example, food handlers were not monitoring cooking temperatures of poultry, employees were not properly washing their hands, and the hand wash sink was being used to store unclean items.
In addition, no paper towels were available to at two hand wash sinks and no soap was available at one sink. Poultry was not cooled from 135°F to 70°F within two hours. And improper and non-existent date/time stamp labeling was being used for ready-to-eat-foods that were being held at room temperature.
Bruce Anderson, Director of the Department of Health added, “Although we appreciate the work being done by Malama Meals and others involved in providing meals for distribution on O‘ahu, Kaua‘i and Molokai during these difficult times, we also need to be sure that health and safety guidelines related to food safety are strictly followed. Shipping prepared foods and distributing them to sometimes remote communities on the Neighbor Islands in a timely manner poses unique challenges. The last thing anyone needs is a widespread outbreak of food poisoning on top of concerns about COVID-19.”
