Cockroaches, unpermitted vendors: Restaurant closures, inspections in Riverside County, April 8-14 – Press Enterprise

2022-04-21 09:47:50 By : Ms. Phoebe Pang

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Here are the restaurants and other food facilities that Riverside County Department of Environmental Health inspectors temporarily shut down because of imminent health hazards between April 8 and 14, 2022.

Thai Smile, 100 S. Indian Canyon Drive, Palm Springs

Manny’s Flamin’ Tacos, food truck based at 83711 Peach St., Indio

In addition to inspections at permitted restaurants, several environmental health offices conducted operations last weekend looking for unpermitted food vending operations. Seven vendors were shut down. Besides not having permits, none had water for washing hands or dishes, and all had food at unsafe temperatures and unprotected from contamination, department spokesperson Brent Casey said. He said staff talked to the vendors about ways they could get permitted and avoid food safety hazards. Here are the vendors, their locations and the date they were shut down:

Here are selected inspections at facilities that weren’t closed but had significant issues.

Aloha Pizza, at 755 W. Blaine St. in Riverside, was inspected April 13 and received a failing grade of 85/B with one critical violation. The restaurant was washing dishes with water that wasn’t hot enough and bleach meant for laundry, not dishes, to sanitize. The dishwashing sink was also in disrepair. Among the eight other violations, the facility’s water wasn’t quite hot enough and the temperature was fluctuating (the inspector said to have the water heater serviced), about 30 pounds of food had to be discarded for being at unsafe temperatures (it was in a prep cooler that needed to be adjusted) and the restaurant was using latex gloves, which are no longer allowed in California food facilities.

El Trigo Taqueria, at 4155 Park Ave. in Riverside, was inspected April 12 and received a failing grade of 69/C with four critical violations. Cooked tomatoes — including in two large pots stored on the floor — had been left at room temperature for 5 1/2 hours, while other containers of soup and tomatillos had been refrigerated but weren’t cooling down fast enough. Dishes weren’t being washed properly, and clean dishes were stored against a dirty wall. Three employees didn’t wash hands properly. And prepared masa and roasted garlic were at room temperature. Among the 14 other violations, the restaurant was using unapproved snap traps and insect spray, the insect spray bottles were stored too close to food, shelving throughout the restaurant was rusty and the facility needed cleaning. The restaurant also failed inspections in 2021 and 2019, and now faces an administrative hearing.

Sapporo Mex Sushi, at 539 S. D St. in Perris, was inspected April 11 and received a failing grade of 71/C with two critical violations, both related to food at unsafe temperatures. Raw shrimp, salsa and mayonnaise had been left at room temperature, cooked shrimp and cheese weren’t being kept cold enough and cooked meat, rice and beans weren’t being kept hot enough. Among the 15 other violations, employees didn’t know safe food temperatures or sanitizer concentration, bulk food was being stored uncovered, some food in the freezer had been cross-contaminated, clean utensils were stored in a dirty drawer, surfaces needed cleaning, the restaurant was using latex gloves, and an excessive amount of dirty dishes had piled up, not just at the dishwashing sink but also at the food-prep sink, on counters and on the floor.

Love Donuts Cafe, at 19009 Van Buren Blvd. Suite 123 in Riverside, was inspected April 11 and received a failing grade of 80/B with two critical violations. The restaurant wasn’t keeping track of how long ham and cheese croissants had been left at room temperature in a display case. Also, an employee washed but didn’t sanitize a sheet pan and incorrectly thought sanitizer came out of the faucet. Among the nine other violations, an employee didn’t wash hands, and equipment and the floors needed cleaning.

This list is published online on Fridays. Any updates as restaurants are reopened will be included in next week’s list.

All food facilities in the county are routinely inspected to ensure they meet health codes. A facility loses four points for each critical violation — and may have to close if the violation can’t be corrected immediately — and one or two points for minor violations. An A grade (90 to 100 points) is passing. Grades of B (80 to 89 points) and C (79 or below) are failing and typically require the proprietor to make improvements and be re-inspected.

For more information on inspections of these or any restaurants in Riverside County, visit restaurantgrading.rivcoeh.org. To submit a health complaint about a restaurant, go to www.rivcoeh.org/Complaint or call 888-722-4234 during business hours or 951-782-2968 after-hours.

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