Inspection Records: Bugs, Vermin Plague Riverhead Bodega

State health inspection records show a pattern of health hazards at the JD Grocery Store in Riverhead, including three separate occasions where inspectors have had to destroy insect-infested food before it could reach consumers.

Most recently, the bodega, at 873 Old County Road, failed inspection after nearly 5 pounds of cornmeal infested with beetles was found. It was the ninth time the market has failed since 2003, according to public information supplied by the state's Department of Agriculture and Markets.

RELATED: Full Riverhead Inspection Results

In April 2010, inspectors discovered two issues with unsafe food: a 5-pound bag of dried chilies that was infested with moths, and several cans of beans that were dented and leaking. And before that, in September 2006, inspectors had to destroy 26 pounds of beetle-infested rice.

Multiple calls to the market were answered by employees who said the owner was not available.

In addition to beetles and moths, the local bodega has also battled problems with mice and cockroaches. In 2003, inspectors failed the market after finding roach and mouse feces in the store's retail and storage areas, and in 2004 they once again found mouse droppings on the floor under a display unit. Then, in 2006, workers cited the bodega after finding up to 20 live cockroaches on top of a produce case and up to 100 roach carcasses across the store. Inspectors found fewer live and dead cockroaches in a 2007 visit, but still failed the market citing the health risk.

Other reasons for failures at JD Grocery included dirty cutting boards, unrefrigerated eggs and not having hand washing sinks.

But as the problems continue at this Riverhead bodega, two state legislators have introduced bills in 2013 that question the ability of inspectors to find and shut down these troubled stores.

“Cutbacks in State funding and staffing in the Department of Agriculture and Markets have led to increased concerns about the abilities of the Department’s safety inspectors to adequately monitor the nearly 30,000 food establishments in the state,” an Assembly bill sponsored by Vivian Cook, D-Jamaica, reads.

Cook’s bill aims to create an advisory board on “food safety and inspection programs” that could recommend changes to state law.

The bill passed the Assembly in 2012 but was not taken up by the Senate.

Public payroll records show the department employed 110 inspectors in 2012, down from 115 on the payroll in 2010, making each inspector responsible for about 340 stores.

Patch’s analysis of state records shows the department may have employed as many as 139 inspectors 10 years ago. Department representatives were not able to confirm these numbers and declined to discuss staffing levels in detail.

Our analysis also found the number of inspections has declined by 19 percent from a peak of about 42,000 in 2008 to 34,000 in 2012. A department spokesman did not respond to requests for comment on this statistic.

In the Senate, Jeff Klein, D-Bronx/Westchester, has introduced a bill that aims to tighten enforcement by requiring a three strikes approach, but appears to say the state’s inspection budget is adequate.

“Since 2000, the department has hired additional inspectors and is inspecting supermarkets more frequently,” the bill reads. “But far too many stores are still being allowed to fail four or more inspections before being closed down.”

Despite repeated requests over several weeks, Klein was not available for comment, and the Department of Agriculture and Markets declined to provide a detailed budget.