Eating out is a popular pastime for MSU students, but what goes on in the kitchen might not always be apparent looking at your plate.
Health inspectors check every facility for priority, priority health and core violations to ensure consumer health. Priority violations are the most concerning, requiring immediate correction, according to the Ingham County health inspection website.
The State News compiled a list of several popular restaurants in East Lansing with health code violations in 2016. Most inspections were done earlier in the year, and violations were corrected or ordered to be monitored by the establishment.
Priority: Potentially Hazardous Food.
In the first inspection, Bagger Dave’s observed food above the required 41 degrees F temperature, used to ensure that food will not spoil and bacteria will not grow. The violation was corrected in the follow up.
Beggars Banquet
Priority: Ice Used as Exterior Coolant. Ice cannot be used as food after using to cool exteriors of food such as melons or fish. The report states that a separate bin is now used. “A separate ice bin is now used to cool food products separate from consumable ice.”
Priority: Safe, Unadulterated, and Hones. “No direct contamination of ice observed. The ice bin is now covered to prevent contamination.”
Priority: Potentially Hazardous Food. Foods were observed at a warm temperature, where it can grow bacteria and spoil. At the follow up inspection, the food was observed at the proper temperature.
“Improper cold holding was observed in the upper section of the pizza condiment cooler. - ham 50F - steak 47F - ground beef 48F Bacterial growth and/or toxin production can occur if potentially hazardous food (time/temperature control for safety food) remains in the temperature ‘Danger Zone’ of 5oC to 57oC (41oF to 135oF) too long.”
Priority: Time as a Public Health Control.
Time-sensitive foods were observed with no time markers on them. At the follow up inspection, the violation was corrected.
“Food Code section 3-501.19 allows potentially hazardous food (time/temperature control for safety) food that is ready-to-eat (RTE) to be stored without temperature control for up to 4 hours, after which it must be discarded or consumed or for up to 6 hours for refrigerated food.”
Priority: An employee was observed handling ready to eat foods with bare hands. The restaurant re-educated the employee.
“Employees are the source of contamination in approximately one in five foodborne disease outbreaks reported in the United States with a bacterial or viral cause. ... Because of poor or nonexistent handwashing procedures, workers spread these organisms to the food.”
Espresso Royale
Priority: Packaged and Unpackaged Food.
Egg shells in storage were observed by the inspector above ready-to-eat food. Raw foods have to be stored away or under ready-to-eat food. The violation was corrected.
“Several shell eggs stored over ready to eat foods at bakery station: Butter, Sour cream. Please store raw animal products below and away from ready to eat foods.”
Priority: An inspector observed nine open and partially used bread loaves with dates earlier than the inspection dates. The loaves were discarded during the inspection.“Industry must implement a system of identifying the date or day by which the food must be consumed, sold, or discarded.”
Priority Foundation: Common Name. An inspector found an unlabeled sanitizer spray bottle in the kitchen. Identification of sanitizor is required to prevent misuse. The bottle was discarded.
Priority: Manual and Mechanical Warewash.
4-501.114 have been validated to achieve sanitization; however, these parameters are not always included on EPA registered labels. Therefore, it is critical to sanitization that the sanitizers are used consistently with the EPA-regismeet the standards required in the Code.”
