Food Stored At Wrong Temperatures At 5 Arlington Restaurants: Report

ARLINGTON, VA — Five food establishments in Arlington recorded violations during recent inspections from the Arlington County Public Health Department.

Inspectors visited 10 restaurants between June 7-13 and five of them were storing food at the wrong temperatures. The food was not hot enough or cold enough to prevent the growth of harmful bacteria.

More information about what types of violations ACPHD inspectors reports can be found at the bottom of this story. Here are the violations from June 7-13 as reported by Arlington County Public Health:

Ruthie's All - Day

3411 5th St S Arlington, VA 22204
Status: Permitted

MOST RECENT INSPECTION
Full Service Restaurant | Risk Factor
June 13, 2024

Observations & Corrective Actions

• Observed a food employee slicing tomatoes with bare hands. The PIC voluntarily discarded the food. Corrective Actions: Wash hands, use gloves and avoid bare hand contact with ready-to-eat foods.
• Observed ice machine in need of cleaning. Corrective Actions: Clean food contact surfaces of the ice machine.

Clementine's-33rd Floor

1812 N Moore Street Arlington, VA 22209
Status: Permitted

Fast Food | Risk Factor
June 13, 2024

• Cheese pizza and rice in kitchen heated units found at 119-131 F. Corrective Actions: Units turned to hotter settings. Keep foods at or above 135.
• Eggs stacked above pan fill lines in top portion of 2-door prep refrigerator found at 51-60 F. Corrective Actions: Store raw eggs in refrigerated equipment capable of maintaining ambient air temperatures of 45 F or less. Eggs relocated further down inside the unit.

La Chiquita Taqueria III

3811 Fairfax Dr Suite A Arlington, VA 22203
Status: Permitted

Full Service Restaurant | Pre-Opening
June 12, 2024

• No Observations Or Corrective Actions Reported

Freddie's

555 S 23rd St Arlington, VA 22202-2517
Status: Permitted

Full Service Restaurant | Risk Factor
June 11, 2024

• No Observations Or Corrective Actions Reported

La Bettola Italiano

558 S 23rd St Arlington, VA 22202
Status: Permitted

Full Service Restaurant | Risk Factor
June 11, 2024

Observations & Corrective Actions

• Observed garlic-in-oil mixture (73F) and chicken Alfredo (64F) at improper cold holding temperature. Corrective Actions: Discard the food and ensure that potentially hazardous foods for cold holding are maintained at 41°F or below to inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria.

Starbucks #17055

2925 S Glebe Rd Arlington, VA 22206
Status: Permitted

Fast Food | Routine
June 11, 2024

• No Observations Or Corrective Actions Reported

Don Tito

3165 Wilson Blvd Arlington, VA 22201
Status: Permitted

Full Service Restaurant | Risk Factor
June 11, 2024

Observations & Corrective Actions

• No handwashing soap provided at main bar and downstairs kitchen handwashing sinks. Corrective Actions: Provide hand soap at each hand sink to allow employees to properly wash their hands.
• Observed soda gun pipe directly in-contact with drinking ice at the main bar. Corrective Actions: Discard the ice and prevent contact of soda gun pipe with the ice.
• The food-contact surfaces of some knives at wall magnet in downstairs kitchen and slicer blade assembly are not clean to sight and touch. Corrective Actions: Clean and sanitize these surfaces for food contact.
• Observed diced chicken (81-85F) in a plastic container not cooled to 70F or less in 2 hours. The chicken was made around 9:00-9:30 am. The PIC voluntarily discarded the food. Corrective Actions: Cool time/temperature control for safety (TCS) food(s) from 135°Fto 41°F within a total of 6 hours and from 135°F to 70°F within 2 hours. A longer time for cooling allows an ideal situation for bacterial growth. This has been shown to be the major contributing factor in many foodborne illnesses.

WAS17 Cafe

510 14th St S 3rd Floor Arlington, VA 22202
Status: Permitted

Fast Food | Risk Factor
June 10, 2024

Observations & Corrective Actions

• Chickpeas (70F), observed in "True" 2-dr RIC were not cooled to from 135F to 41F or less within a total of 6 hours. The PIC voluntarily discarded the food. Corrective Actions: Cooked time/temperature control for safety food shall be cooled: (1) Within 2 hours from 135 F to 70 F; and/or within a total of 6 hours from 135 F to 41 F or less
• Observed several foods at improper hot holding temperature: 1. Chicken (116F) in "Hoffman-Carter" warmer 2. Veggie stew - 124-133F 3. Shrimp tikka masala -199F. Corrective Actions: Rapidly reheat these foods to 165°F and maintain at 135°F or above through the hot holding period.
• Observed several foods at improper cold holding temperature: 1. Tzatziki sauce - 47F (relocated) 2- Tomato sauce - 47-50F (reloated) 3. Crumbled feta cheese - 55F (discarded) 4. Crumbled blue cheese in "Victory Ultraspec" 2-dr RIC (discarded) Corrective Actions: Cold hold time/temperature control for safety foods at 41 F or below to inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria.

WAS17 Catering

510 14th St S 3rd Floor Arlington, VA 22202
Status: Permitted

Fast Food | Risk Factor
June 10, 2024

No Observations Or Corrective Actions Reported

WAS17 Coffee & Market

510 14th St S 3rd Floor Arlington, VA 22202
Status: Permitted

Fast Food | Routine
June 7, 2024

Observations & Corrective Actions

• Observed a food employee failed to apply soap for handwashing. Corrective Actions: Ensure all food employees clean their hands and exposed portions of their arms with a cleaning compound in a lavatory by vigorously rubbing together the surfaces of their lathered hands and warms for at least 20 seconds and thoroughly rinsing with clean water.
• Observed containers of half and half (73F & 71F) and skim milk (52F & 66F) on a cart at improper cold holding temperature. The PIC voluntarily discarded these foods. Corrective Actions: Discard the food and ensure that potentially hazardous foods for cold holding are maintained at 41°F or below to inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria.

What Violations Do ACPHD Inspectors Report?

In Virginia, all food service locations are supposed to be inspected at least once per year. Facilities with higher risk factors may be inspected as often as four times per year, according to the Virginia Department of Health.
Violations at restaurants typically focus on factors that can contribute to food contamination. The local health department can also perform a re-inspection to ensure that possible violations have been corrected. Sometimes, the follow-up inspection only considers the most important "priority" violations.

For every observed violation, the inspector provides a specific corrective action that can be completed to rectify the violation. Sometimes these are simple, and violations can be corrected during the course of the inspection. Depending on the results of the inspection, the health department can pursue several actions.

They can issue a permit for the restaurant to continue serving food, they can schedule a follow-up inspection to determine if violations have been rectified, or they can temporarily shut down an establishment until certain issues are solved.

The Virginia Department of Health only recommends restaurants have their permits suspended when "the continued operation of the food service presents a substantial and imminent threat to the public health."

More Health Code Violations:

• Mishandling Raw Meat Reported At Multiple Arlington Eateries: Health
• Insect Floating In Sauce, Pests In Sushi Fridge: Arlington Inspections
• Calamari Thawing In Container On Floor Under Sink: Food Inspections
• No Parasite Destruction Records Kept For Raw Fish: Health Inspections
• Chemical Poisoning Risk With Unlabeled Food Containers: Inspections
• Little Flies Observed; Chicken Legs Kept Too Cold: Health Inspections
• Health Inspections: Dented Tomato Juice Can labelled 'Don't Use'
• Bananas Stored In Wet Container With Sanitizer: Health Inspections
• Rodents, Insects And Other Pests: Arlington Health Inspection Reports