Vermin, grease and a dirt floor: What health inspectors found at these Fresno restaurants
Two Fresno restaurants were shut down temporarily in March, and a third business remains closed, after Fresno County health inspectors discovered serious food safety violations during their visits.
The Rack Billiards on North Blackstone Avenue north of Gettysburg Avenue was closed by a county inspector on March 1 because the floor in the business was removed, leaving the premises exposed to the bare dirt and underground plumbing. Inspectors allowed the business to reopen on March 9
In southeast Fresno, at Indian market and restaurant Apni Mandi in a shopping center at Belmont and Peach avenues, an inspector found evidence of a vermin infestation during a March 7 visit. According to the California state Health & Safety Code, evidence of a vermin infestation can include actual sightings of insects or rodents, fresh droppings, urine stains or gnawing marks that may indicate possible contamination of food, equipment, packing or utensils. The operators were allowed to reopen on March 13.
Another food business on Belmont Avenue, however, remained closed this week following its inspection on March 17. Christy’s Donuts, at Belmont Avenue and Fresno Street, was deemed unsafe to occupy by fire safety officials after a county inspector found that the ventilation hood in the kitchen was not working. Grease was discovered accumulating in the building’s attic near the water heater and leaking into light fixtures.
The March closures came after health department officials reported no restaurant closures in February as a result of inspection violations.
What are inspectors looking for?
The Fresno County Department of Public Health has about two dozen environmental health specialists who monitor more than 5,300 restaurants, snack bars, grocery stores, commissaries, delicatessens and food vendors across the county, making unannounced visits several times a year.
Restaurants also are inspected in response to complaints or other concerns from the public, including when people see what they believe are health or sanitation issues at restaurants.
Inspectors run through a checklist of more than 50 issues when they visit a restaurant or food-service site.
Some of the county’s inspectors also are responsible for checking other facilities such as tattoo or body art parlors, public swimming pools and other sites.
A lack of hot water is one of the most common violations inspectors from the Fresno County Department of Public Health find when they make their routine visits to restaurants.
Usually, if an inspector finds a problem, it’s the kind of thing that can be quickly remedied without a closure order – things such as having enough bleach in the water used to wipe down food-preparation counters, replacing lids on food containers in the walk-in refrigerator, resupplying paper towels in the restrooms or reminding employees to wear gloves or hairnets and to wash their hands.
But other things that represent an immediate danger to health and safety will trigger a closure until the problem can be solved. Those can include a lack of hot water for washing dishes or hands; infestations of rodents, cockroaches or other insects; refrigerators that don’t keep cold food cold enough and steam tables that don’t keep food hot enough to inhibit bacterial growth; or plumbing problems including backed-up drains and toilets.
Fresno County makes its restaurant inspection reports publicly available at fresnohealthinspections.org, but some of the more recent inspection reports have yet to appear on the site.
