Why was a Fresno restaurant closed for a week? Here’s what health inspectors found
Clogged sinks that could potentially contaminate food preparation areas were the problem that caused Fresno County health inspectors to close a north Fresno restaurant and hookah lounge for a week last month.
El Basha Mediterranean Grill & Hookah was closed after a Nov. 16 visit by an environmental health inspector from the Fresno County Department of Public Health.
A report from the agency indicates that a floor sink and two hand-washing sinks in the kitchen were not draining properly at the time of the visit, providing the possibility that waste water might overflow into areas where food is prepared for diners.
The restaurant on Blackstone Avenue just north of Shaw Avenue was reinspected and allowed to reopen a week later, on Nov. 23.
El Basha was the only Fresno County restaurant reported closed in November by inspectors because of health violations.
A lack of hot water is one of the most common violations that inspectors find when they make their routine visits to restaurants and other food and drink establishments throughout Fresno County. Hot water at a temperature of at least 120 degrees is considered important by inspectors for safely washing pots, pans, dishes and glasses as well as for employees to wash their hands.
Inspectors from the county’s environmental health division typically attempt to visit each of more than 5,300 restaurants, snack bars, commissaries, delicatessens, grocery stores and food vendors across Fresno County three to four times a year. That frequency slipped somewhat during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic as many restaurants were closed and county health employees were diverted to other tasks related to the pandemic, but inspections are increasingly back on track now.
When inspectors visit a restaurant or other food service business, there is a lengthy and detailed list of more than 50 things that draw their scrutiny. They include:
- Whether the manager and all employees have the required food safety or food-handling certificates.
- Hygiene of individual employees.
- Ways to keep cold food at or below 41 degrees and hot food above 135 degrees.
- Use of proper sterilization for counters, tables, utensils and cookware.
- Overall cleanliness.
- Proper drainage of sinks and floor drains.
- Keeping restrooms stocked with supplies; and whether the business has the proper license or permit.
If inspectors find a problem, it’s often something that can be fixed on the spot – issues like having enough bleach or sanitizer in the water used to wipe down food-preparation areas, putting lids back on containers in walk-in refrigerators, replenishing soap, paper towels and toilet paper in the restrooms, or reminding employees to wash their hands and wear gloves and hairnets.
But occasionally, more serious violations pop up that create a need to shut down a place on the spot, sometimes for a few hours or a day or two, sometimes longer.
Those immediate concerns include infestations of rodents, cockroaches and other insects; refrigerators that don’t keep food cold enough or steam tables that don’t keep food hot enough to inhibit bacterial growth; or, in the case of November’s issue at El Basha, plumbing problems such as backed-up drains or sinks.
