LANSING — When county health inspectors visit local restaurants, they document problems that need addressing to meet standards set by Michigan food codes and law.
The most serious problems are considered priority violations, which present potential health hazards and should be corrected immediately. Priority foundation violations do not present immediate health hazards but should be corrected in a timely manner. Follow-up inspections and reports may consequently happen.
In most cases, the violations are corrected, and this information isn’t an indication that violations at any establishment are still an ongoing issue.
Here are the most serious violations in Ingham County for restaurants in the first two weeks of July.
Three priority violations and three priority foundation violations were found at:
Lucky’s Steakhouse, 3554 Okemos Road, Okemos
The chlorine chemical sanitizing concentration in a dish machine was less than 10 ppm (parts per million), when the requirement is 50-100 ppm. A pesticide strip not approved for food service establishments was under an ice bin at the bar. The chlorine bleach solution level for sanitizing in a three-compartment kitchen was too strong, at 200 ppm instead of 50-100 ppm. The ice machine bin was “visibly soiled with mold in contact with ice on side walls” and a “can opener was encrusted with food debris and soil.” A hand sink was being used for storage of chemicals and bar mats, making it unavailable for proper handwashing. There were no paper towels available at a bar hand sink for hand drying.
Two priority violations were found at:
Michigan State University Golf Course, Henry Center, East Lansing
Condiments in cooler near hot dogs held at 47 degrees F on top and 49 degrees F on bottom, several degrees over the at or below 41 degrees Fahrenheit standard. The dish machine’s sanitizer was not being used according to manufacturers’ directions
One priority violation and three priority foundation violations were found at:
Zaytoon, 1979 N. Aurelius Road, Holt
An employee stated the cutting board of a prep station used with potentially hazardous food was not cleaned after 4 hours. The person in charge was found to not be performing the following duties: training employees, making sanitizer buckets, cleaning the floors, walls, equipment, and correctly thawing raw meat. A hand sink was being used for dirty dishes and was not available for proper handwashing. Spray bottles of chemicals were not labeled with contents.
One priority violation and two priority foundation violations were found at:
JJ’s Dog House, 625 E. Michigan Ave., Lansing
The kitchen’s prep refrigerator was 45 to 49 degrees F, warmer than the standard of at or below 41 degrees F, and the upright refrigerator in dining area was 79 degrees F. “Correction: Discard Vienna dogs in the upright refrigerator and see why kitchen refrigerator is not working.” The hot water had to be reconnected, and a kitchen hand sink was not accessible.
One priority violation and one priority foundation violation were found at:
El Burrito Mexicano, 2176 Cedar St., Holt
Salsa in the front cooler registered 48 degrees Fahrenheit, over the standard of at or below 41 degrees F. Hard shell eggs were sitting on the counter and there was no time stamp indicating when eggs were removed from the cold holding device. “Correction: Create a plan for time as a public health control and maintain the documentation onsite.”
Ellie’s Country Kitchen, 130 E. Grand River Ave., Williamston
An inspector had issues with sausage on a plate on a counter registering below 135 degrees F. The sausage was at 80.3 degrees F. “PIC must ensure that this sausage is consumed/discarded within 4 hours of time removed from temperature control, or re-heated to 165 degrees F and held hot since it was prepared earlier today.”
Grand Traverse Pie Company, 3536 Meridian Crossing Drive, Okemos
After a few attempts to run the dish machine and the chlorine sanitizer line was primed, the test strips were still indicating the concentration of the chlorine sanitizer was less than 10 ppm. The person in charge reported that he contacted a service person for the dishwasher “to ensure that it is fully sanitizing with proper chemical concentration.” A hand sink was inaccessible and unavailable for proper handwashing – blocked by cooling racks. Corrected.
Ingham County Medical Care Facility, 3860 Dobie Road, Okemos
Foods requiring time and temperature controls were in a cooler beyond the datemark. Corrected at the time of inspection. A test kit for Ecolab Sink and Surface sanitizer was not available.
Wing Snob, 3415 E. Saginaw St., Lansing
Dressings including ranch in an ice bath were more than 20 degrees over the at or below 41 degree standard. “Correction: Need to change the melted ice frequently to keep the product in temperature. Recommend a small refrigerator to store them in.” Corrected. Fruit/sewer flies were around the mop sink area and mop bucket. An inspector advised staff to keep the mop hung to dry and the area uncluttered.
One priority violation was found at
City Limits, 801 Cedar St., Mason
Various dairy products including ranch dressing, plus tomatoes, were in a cooler registering between 43 and 45 degrees Fahrenheit, or a few degrees over the standard of at or below 41 degrees Fahrenheit. The restaurant was told to get the cooling device repaired.
GoodFellas Bagel Deli (at Capital City Market), 600 E. Michigan Ave., Lansing
“The Meijer Brand Chlorine bleach disinfectant is not approved to be used.”
Jimmy John’s, 134 S. Washington Square, Lansing
“No air gap provided on one of the pipes leading away from (the) ice machine” to protect water supply.
Savvy Sliders, 3454 Okemos Road, Okemos
Follow-up Inspection: Not corrected. Atmospheric vacuum breaker cap and device is missing/broken on the mop sink faucet. “Correction: Repair/reinstall AVB on the mop sink, to ensure that the atmospheric vacuum breaker prevents backflow of contaminated water.”
Tantay, East Kalamazoo St., Lansing
Rice in the warmer for 6 hours was only 120 degrees F. An inspector asked for the rice to be discarded and for new rice to be made. “The rice should been reheated quickly to 165 degrees F.” Corrected.
Z!Eats (Formerly Zoup!), 214 S. Washington Square, Lansing
Toppings in an open cooler were “being cold held” at 45-47 degrees F, over the at or below 41 degrees standard.
One priority foundation violation was found at:
Hungry Howie’s Pizza, 222 N. Cedar St., Mason
“A few items” in the prep line, reach-in cooler were not marked with a beyond use date. The inspector advised that all ready-to-eat potentially hazardous foods are date marked with a date not to exceed 7-days.
Mi Sushi & Noodles, 3340 E. Lake Lansing Road, East Lansing
Test strips for chlorine were not being used to measure concentration of sanitizer in wiping cloth buckets. Corrected.
Niko’s Taverna, 151 S. Putnam St., Williamston
No paper towels at the bar hand sink.
Contact editor Susan Vela at svela@lsj.com or 248-873-7044. Follow her on Twitter @susanvela.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Ingham County restaurant inspections: Mold in ice machine, dirty meat cutting board