Health violations briefly closed two Fresno food places in June. What inspectors found
A cockroach infestation and a building fire were the reasons for temporary closures of two Fresno food-service businesses in June by the Fresno County Department of Public Health.
The FoodsCo Store #339 at First Street and Shields Avenue in central Fresno was closed by an inspector with the health department’s Environmental Health Division on June 4 after a fire in the building. According to a public health notice, the fire was started by a customer in the aisle where paper products including bathroom tissue was stocked.
A sprinkler kept fire damage inside the store to a minimum, but there was heat damage and smoke contamination of cooking equipment and food-preparation areas of the store.
In addition to the immediate closure of the store, perishable and contaminated food products were thrown away and the food area was subjected to a thorough cleaning. The store was allowed to reopen following a reinspection on June 6.
In southeast Fresno, Fung’s Kitchen at Butler and Cedar avenues was closed for 10 days after a June 20 inspection revealed evidence of a cockroach infestation. Two subsequent inspections on June 23 and June 26 also showed signs of infestations.
The Chinese restaurant was allowed to reopen following a June 30 inspection at which the owner provided invoices for pest control treatments and contracts for future treatments. No live cockroaches or signs of cockroach excrement were found during the June 30 reinspection.
Fire damage and insect or vermin infestations are two types of violations that tend to result in immediate closure of restaurants or food businesses when they are observed by Fresno County health inspectors. Among other serious concerns for food safety are refrigerators that don’t keep food cold enough or steam tables that don’t keep food hot enough to inhibit bacterial growth, or clogged sinks or drains that cause contaminated water to back up into kitchens.
Most of the time, 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 onto 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.
A lack of hot water is one of the most common violations inspectors from the Department of Public Health find when they make their routine visits to restaurants and other food and drink establishments. 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.
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.
- Restrooms stocked with supplies.
- Whether the business has the proper license or permit.
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.
This story was originally published July 10, 2023 at 12:15 PM.
