Health Inspections: Violations at SK Eateries

Editor's Note: The following statements are from health inspection reports by the Rhode Island Department of Health, submitted in May.

Bluebird Cafe, 554 Kingstown Road, South Kingstown — The Health Department noted 11 violations during an inspection May 15.

• An open employee's beverage container was observed in a food preparation area. Employees shall not drink from open beverage containers in order to prevent contamination of their hands, the container and exposed food.
• Kitchen has only one handsink and it's located tucked between a mop sink and an ice machine at the far end, about 30' from the dishwashing area. Another handsink must be located in the dishwashing area to provide convenient access for employees. Another option is that the current handsink could be relocated centrally in the kitchen.
• Raw egg whites were stored above other cooked or otherwise ready-to-eat foods in the refrigerator. Manager moved them to the bottom of the unit.
• Cooked red potatoes were stored in a deep (8'- 10") plastic bucket. Current temp is 100*F. Potatoes were taken from the stove top about 2 hours ago and had just been boiled. So no disposal was requested but manager divided them into 2 shallow containers.
• Thermometers are lacking in the refrigeration unit(s). Cold holding equipment used for potentially hazardous food must have at least one thermometer that is located to allow easy viewing of the temperature display.
• The hood exhaust system is dripping grease which could drip into uncovered foods. Hood must be cleaned immediately
• Wet wiping cloths are not stored in a chemical sanitizer between uses. Wet wiping cloths must be stored in a chemical sanitizer at the appropriate concentration.
• Inside and outside surfaces of equipment have an accumulation of grime and food debris.
• Some sections of walls and wooden overhead door in back are in very poor condition. The door slides up overhead like a garage door and it has peeling/chipping paint on it. The FRP wall coverings in areas is coming off the wall, or is overlapped - moisture can get trapped between the frp and the wall and thus support the growth of mold.
• There is a very heavy accumulation of grease, grime, and food dbris under and behind equipment.
• Basement has a large amount of items stored in it that are not necessary to the food business. Parts of the basement cannot even be walked through it's so full. These things can provide harborage conditions for pests or animals.

Cap'N Jack's Restaurant, 706 Succotash Road, South Kingstown — The Health Department noted 5 violations during an inspection May 15.

• The slicer, though not used today, had food debris remaining on the back of the blade and the channel under the blade. All food contact equipment must be thoroughly cleaned and sanitized after use, or within every 4 hours when in continuous use.
• Prepared foods are not marked with the date of preparation. Ready-to-eat potentially hazardous food, prepared in the establishment and held for more than 24 hours, must be marked with the date of preparation. Also, opened packages and/or repackaged commercially prepared foods such as deli meats and cheeses are also lacking date markings.
• Refrigerator door gaskets on several units are in very poor repair and can no longer be cleaned as required.
• Underside of cutting boards and the surface they are placed on are not clean and sanitary.
• The floor behind the dishwasher is in poor condition - it's sagging and the tiles are cracking, and causing the wall covering to buckle.

Fat Belly's Pub, 333 Main St., South Kingstown — The Health Department noted 9 violations during an inspection May 2.

• An open employee's beverage container was observed in a food preparation area. Employees shall not drink from open beverage containers in order to prevent contamination of their hands, the container and exposed food.
• Per interview with employees, they did not wash hands upon returning to the kitchen.
• An employee was observed with bare hands picking scraps of food off the cutting board and returning them to containers in the prep cooler.
• The handsink in the kitchen is not working. Handsink was fixed by the end of the inspection.
• Raw chicken is stored in a pan of water in the food prep sink. It had been thawing. Temp 55*F. Chicken is being fully cooked to correct the temp abuse.
• Soup stored in the walk-in cooler is not date marked. Ready-to-eat potentially hazardous food , prepared in the establishment and held for more than 24 hours, must be marked with the date of preparation.
• The consumer advisory provided does not disclose the foods on the menu that are raw or undercooked.
• Chicken thawing in a pan of water was not thawed in one of the following ways: under refrigeration (41 degrees F or less), completely submerged under running water, as part of the cooking process, or in the microwave if cooked immediately after thawing.
• Wet wiping cloths are not stored in a chemical sanitizer between uses. Wet wiping cloths must be stored in a chemical sanitizer at the appropriate concentration.

Matunuck Oyster Bar, 629 Succotash Road, South Kingstown — The Health Department noted 1 violation during an inspection May 10.

• Cooked lobster salad was held at 45-50 degrees degrees. Potentially hazardous food must be held at 41 degrees F. or below except during preparation, cooking or cooling.

Peacedale House, 1221 Saugutucket Road, South Kingstown — The Health Department noted 2 violations during an inspection May 13.

• Inside of ice machine has a heavy accumulation of mold and minerals. Director is having it cleaned and sanitized right away and will put it out of order until corrected.
• Condensate drain from the ice machine is delivering sludge to the drain and caused the drain (which is air-gapped) to back up. It will be corrected today.
  

Phil's Restaurant, 323 Main St., South Kingstown — The Health Department noted 11 violations during an inspection May 9.

• Lack of supervision - employees were not trained on corrections for previous violations.
• A lack of handwashing was observed when an employee was breaking shell eggs and then handled a serving plate with no handwashing done between tasks. Pancakes put on the plate were voluntarily disposed.
• Little plastic condiment cups are stored directly in foods (ready-to-eat) and used as scoops causing bare hand contact to occur to the foods they are stored in. All adulterated foods were voluntarily disposed.
• Containers of food were stored within other containers of food in direct contact with inner foods. This practice presents a high risk of cross contamination and renders the inner foods adulterated. One even involved storing a container (of cooked chicken) directly on top of raw meat. This will transfer organisms to other foods or food contact surfaces. All adulterated items were voluntarily disposed.
• Cutting boards are stored on soiled, wet counters and not cleaned and sanitized between tasks. Cutting boards need to be removed, thoroughly cleaned and sanitized, air dried, and then returned to a clean dry surface for use. Water and food juices may not remain between the board and the counter because it will provide a rich organic medium for pathogenic microorganisms to grow.
• Individual packets of butter are left at room temp though the main container indicates they must be kept refrigerated. Butter is a potentially hazardous food. Packets were voluntarily disposed.
• Several cooked items in the walk-in cooler were lacking date markings and by interview with various employees it was found that they were prepared more than 24 hours in advance.
• A special Mother's Day menu listing foods of animal origin (steaks) which will be cooked to the customer's order (may be served raw or undercooked) is lacking a consumer advisory.
• Cooked foods are stored deep in large buckets - this practice requires active cooling methods and a cooling log generated to assure the time and temp requirements were met. Ice baths and chill sticks must include stirring and checking the product until the final temperature of 41*F or less is reached. The method of dividing cooked foods into smaller portions is designed for passive cooling is recommended.
• Soiled knives were stored on the clean knife holder (magnetic strip on wall). When in use, utensils may remain on the cutting surface so as not to contaminate clean utensils or storage equipment. All were put through the dishwasher and area was re-setup.

The Health Department also inspected Belmont Fruit, Bistro by the Sea, CANE Child Development Center, Commons Convenience Store and Hanson's Pub.