Insect In Sauce, Pest-Infested Sushi Fridge, More Violations Found At VA Restaurants

VIRGINIA — Some signs of a restaurant with health violations are easy to spot; weird smells, crawling insects or unkempt employees are all red flags. But sometimes the problem is harder to pin down, such as food stored at improper temperatures, unclean kitchen equipment, or insufficient handwashing.

Some recent restaurant inspections throughout Virginia uncovered rodent droppings, an insect found in a sauce, undercooked chicken and other violations. Some restaurants alone had over a dozen violations.

Then there are commercial kitchens that are immaculately clean, surpass all safety standards and serve up delicious food.

"In our experience, it is unrealistic to expect that a complex, full-service food operation can routinely avoid any violations," according to Virginia Department of Health's website.

Do you know how clean your favorite coffee shop, go-to restaurant or school kitchen is? Look through these recent food safety inspections from around Northern Virginia and Fredericksburg, courtesy of Patch.

• Swarms Of Flies In Cooking, Prep Areas At Fredericksburg Restaurant
• Manassas Restaurant Inspections: Up To 15 Violations At Eateries
• Insect Floating In Sauce, Pests In Sushi Fridge: Arlington Inspections
• Milk Shake Dispenser Not Sanitized As Required: Health Inspections
• Vienna Restaurant Inspections: Rodent Droppings, 13 Violations
• Source Of Mushroom Powder Questioned: Fredericksburg Food Inspections
• Mishandling Raw Meat Reported At Multiple Arlington Eateries: Health
• Bucket Of Bones Stored Uncovered In Freezer: Restaurant Inspections
• Food Stored At Wrong Temperatures At 5 Arlington Restaurants: Report