Popular Pittsburgh-Area Restaurant Cited By State

PITTSBURGH, PA — State inspectors have cited a Pittsburgh-area restaurant after an inspection on Wednesday revealed double-digit health code compliance issues.

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture ruled that the Lamplighter on Route 22 in Delmont, Westmoreland County, had 11 compliance violations.

Among them:

• Rodent droppings were found on floors throughout kitchen and on dry storage racks in the basement.
• An employee was observed employee handling raw ground meat with bare hands and then handling clean utensils without washing hands.The worker also was seen cracking raw, unpasteurized eggs with bare hands and then handling a clean plate without washing hands.

The inspection report noted that contamination can occur under such circumstances.

• Some towels were observed to be damp, have food debris visible on them, and sitting on counter tops throughout kitchen.
• Also observed were employees wiping hands on towels after touching raw meat. A worker was found to be touching ready-to-eat toast with bare hands and spreading butter on the toast.
• An employee also was found to be picking up ready-to-eat french fries that had fallen off the customer plate at the service window and place them back onto the plate with bare hands.

See the entire inspection report here.