Restaurant Violations: O'Brien's Oyster Bar, Happy Harbor, Weis

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Twenty restaurants and food stores in Annapolis and elsewhere in Anne Arundel County were cited for what county health inspectors called "critical violations" in the April 2018 report that was just released. The county health department posted a list of 351 restaurant and food service inspections online and said 20 were found to have critical problems that were corrected.

Businesses, schools and care centers were inspected between April 1 and 30. Most of the problems noted in the reports were for employees who didn't wash their hands properly or food not stored at a proper temperature. No restaurants were closed last month because of urgent problems.

The restaurants and businesses with critical violations were:

• Anne Arundel County Courthouse, 7 Church Circle, Annapolis
• Bowl of Cherries Catering, 830 Mayo Road, Edgewater
• Cabrito Mexican Grill, 3460 Ft. Meade Rd., Laurel
• California Pizza Kitchen, 22 Annapolis Mall, Annapolis
• Comfort Inn & Suites, 6921 Baltimore-Annapolis Blvd., Baltimore
• Dunkin' Donuts, 5408 Southern Maryland Blvd., Lothian
• El Cabrito Mexican Grill, 8971 Ft. Smallwood Rd., Pasadena
• Happy Harbor Restaurant, 533 Deale Rd., Deale
• Johnny's Family Restaurant, 3023 Mountain Road, Pasadena
• McDonald's, 1464 Ritchie Highway, Arnold
• Millersville Exxon, 8556 Veterans Highway, Millersville
• Neo Pizza, 220 Harker Place, Annapolis
• NG BWI ATL, 1212 Winterson Road, Linthicum
• NG BWI WQB, 1580 West Nursery Road B, Linthicum
• O'Brien's Oyster Bar, 111 Main Street, Annapolis
• Pizza Pie & Co., 2423 Annapolis Mall Rd., Annapolis
• Royal Farms Store, 424 Sixth Street, Annapolis
• Sheraton BWI Hotel, 1100 Old Elkridge Landing Rd., Linthicum
• Weis Markets, 2294 Blue Water Blvd., Odenton
• Wendy's, 100 East Central Ave., Edgewater

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.

SEE ALSO:

• Restaurant Violations: Cooper's Hawk, La Bella Italia, CaliBurger
• Restaurant Scores: Yellowfin, Baja Fresh, Old South Country Club
• Restaurant Scores: Adam's Ribs, Roy Rogers, Season's Pizza, Giant

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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:

1. Food must be obtained from an approved source.
2. Food must be protected from adulteration, spoilage and contamination.
3. Food workers must be restricted during illness or infection.
4. Food workers must practice effective handwashing.
5. Food must be properly cooled.
6. a. Food must be held at proper cold holding temperature. 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.
7. a. Food must be cooked to proper temperature. b. Food must be reheated to proper temperature.
8. Potable hot and cold running water must be provided.
9. 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.

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