38 'Critical' Food Violations, One Anne Arundel Restaurant Closure: December 2016

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Nearly 40 restaurants and food stores in Annapolis and elsewhere in Anne Arundel County were cited for what county health inspectors called “critical violations” in the December 2016 report recently released. One Domino's Pizza location was closed for a day until its hot water was restored.

The county health department has posted a list of 398 restaurant and food service inspections online and says 38 were found to have critical problems that were corrected. Businesses were inspected between Dec. 1 and Dec. 30; findings were released Jan. 24.

Food Facility Closing:

• County inspectors closed Domino's Pizza, 963 Ritchie Highway in Arnold, on Dec. 19 because it had no hot water. The facility reopened the same day.

Most of the problems noted in the report were for employees who didn’t wash their hands properly or food not stored at a proper temperature.

Inspectors evaluate nine critical food safety items, which are those most likely to contribute to foodborne illness, the department says. If a critical food safety violation is discovered, it must be either corrected immediately or the facility risks being closed.

Find the full inspection list here and explanations for the citations on the health department website.

The restaurants and businesses with critical violations were:

• 7-Eleven, 951 Ritchie Highway, Arnold
• 7-Eleven, 500 Donaldson Avenue, Severn
• Adam's Ribs, 169 Mayo Road, Edgewater
• Arby's, 2623 Brandermill Blvd., Gambrills
• Belle Grove Elementary School, 4502 Belle Grove Rd., Baltimore
• Blas Super Market, 1701 Crain Highway South, Glen Burnie
• The Breakfast Shoppe, 550 Ritchie Hwy., Severna Park (inspected on two dates)
• Burger King, 7000 Arundel Mills Circle, Hanover
• Domino's Pizza, 105 Mayo Road, Edgewater
• Dunkin' Donuts/Baskin Robbins, 1051 MD Rt. 3 North Hwy., Gambrills
• Glen Burnie Health/Rehab Ctr E, 7355 Furnace Branch Road, Glen Burnie
• Greene Turtle Annapolis, 177 Jennifer Rd., Annapolis
• Grotto Pizza, 2404 Brandermill Blvd., Gambrills
• High's Convenience Store, 1616-1624 Annapolis Rd., Odenton
• Hilltop Pizza, 7756 B & A Blvd., Glen Burnie
• Hilton Baltimore/BWI Airport, 1739 W. Nursery Road, Linthicum
• Hong Kong Buffet, 3283 Solomons Island Road, Edgewater (inspected on two dates)
• Houlihan's Waugh Chapel, 1407 S. Main Chapel Way, #115, Gambrills
• Hyatt Place, 940 International Drive, Linthicum
• JP's Deli, 7900 Ritchie Hwy., Glen Burnie
• Ledo Pizza, 16-18 Ordnance Road, Glen Burnie
• Ledo Pizza, 505 B S Cherry Grove Ave., Annapolis
• Lupita's Restaurant, 1313 Forest Drive, Annapolis (inspected on two dates)
• Monarch Academy, 6730 Baymeadow Drive, Glen Burnie
• New Matsu Sushi, 509 S. Cherry Grove Ave. #D, Annapolis
• Oishi Japanese Cuisine, 1450 Ritchie Hwy., Arnold
• Pizza Boli's, 1900 Fairfax Road, Annapolis
• Roy Rogers, 1043 N. Rt. 3, Gambrills
• Safeway Grocery Store, 7643 Arundel Mills Blvd., Hanover
• Stan & Joe's Saloon, 173 Mitchell's Chance Road, Edgewater
• Steak 'n Shake, 8100 Veterans Hwy., Millersville
• Subway, 801-A Landmark Drive. Glen Burnie
• Subway, 895 Bay Ridge Road, Annapolis
• Wendy's, 1949 West Street, Annapolis

The Anne Arundel County Department of Health inspects restaurants and other food service facilities routinely to monitor the sanitary and physical conditions at each establishment.

Indicates type of inspection:
ICI - Initial Comprehensive Inspection: Complete environmental inspection which includes both critical and sanitation items and food flow process (HACCP)
IM(1 or 2) - Monitoring Inspection: Specialized inspections performed to monitor critical steps of food handling for potentially hazardous foods.
R(or R2) - Reinspection
Column 5: Critical food safety items found NOT in compliance. Any critical items found to be in violation must be corrected during the inspection. Numbers appearing in this column indicate the food safety item found in violation.
These numbers correspond to the following critical items:

• Food must be obtained from an approved source.
• Food must be protected from adulteration, spoilage and contamination.
• Food workers must be restricted during illness or infection.
• Food workers must practice effective handwashing.
• Food must be properly cooled.
• All existing refrigeration equipment must maintain the internal temperature of potentially hazardous food at 41 degrees F or less.
• b. Food must be held at proper hot holding temperature.
• a. Food must be cooked to proper temperature.
• b. Food must be reheated to proper temperature.
• Potable hot and cold running water must be provided.
• Sewage must be properly discharged.

Ways to spot a possibly unclean restaurant kitchen are:

• Outdoor space: If the exterior is unkempt and littered, don't trust the inside.
• How clean is the restroom? Smells and overflowing trash cans are a red flag.
• Well-groomed employees: Are they washed, do they wear gloves when handling food, and do they wash their hands? If not, be careful.
• Healthy servers: If your waiter is sneezing or coughing, ask for another or consider leaving
• Table cleaning: Is a clean rag and disinfectant used to clean the table's surface? If not, the staff could just be spreading germs around.

SEE ALSO:

• 27 'Critical' Food Violations Found At Anne Arundel Restaurants: November 2016
• 'Critical' Food Violations Found at Anne Arundel Restaurants: October 2016
• 'Critical' Food Violations Found at Anne Arundel Restaurants: September 2016
• 'Critical' Food Violations Found at Anne Arundel Restaurants
• 'Critical' Food Violations Found at Anne Arundel Restaurants: July 2016
• 'Critical' Food Violations Found at Anne Arundel Restaurants: August 2016