2 failed food safety inspections at Tri-Cities area restaurants and other businesses
The Benton Franklin Health District gave failing grades in two inspections of restaurants and other places that sell food and drinks for the week of March 4 to 10.
They included a popular Kennewick restaurant and a coffee shop in southern Benton County.
In the 14 inspections conducted, the district’s food safety team awarded six perfect scores, including to restaurants and a school cafeteria.
The Tri-Cities-based health district ramped up food inspections in recent months as fewer resources have been needed for the COVID-19 pandemic.
But then the Tri-Cities, Wash., area was hit in recent weeks with more norovirus cases than usual, even for the winter peak of the illness, which is sometimes called the stomach flu.
Fewer routine food safety inspections have been done as health district staff have instead focused on work to stop the spread of norovirus.
Several outbreaks have been reported in long-term care homes and hundreds of staff hours have been used to investigate the origins of the infection, review kitchen procedures and evaluate infection control procedures.
In the district’s routine food safety inspections, businesses or organizations that receive 35 points for the more serious red violations are required to have additional inspections and must meet a tougher standard on those.
For followup inspections, they must have fewer than 25 red points and a limited number of repeat problems to pass followup inspections.
Red violations are those most likely to cause food-borne illness, such as improper temperature control of food, lack of handwashing or bare-hand contact with foods.
Blue violations are low risk factors related to the cleanliness and physical condition of an establishment.
No notice is given before the inspections.
Inspection results are posted online so residents can look up the status and the details of any violations of individual restaurants.
Go to bit.ly/BFHDinspections. Click on the business name and then on the date of the inspection on the right half of the next page. Look for the “Violations” tab.
Call 509-460-4205 with questions or concerns.
Failed inspection
Farm Grounds Coffee, 190704 Highway 221, Paterson, Follow-up March 9 (70 Red, 0 Blue)
Notes: Lack of active managerial control, improper hand washing, inadequate handwashing facilities, improper cold holding (>45°F), improper chemical use, lack of conformance with approved procedures.
Outback Steakhouse, 6819 W. Canal Drive, Kennewick, Routine March 6 (35 Red, 0 Blue)
Notes: Food worker cards not 100%, improper cooling procedures, improper cold holding (42-45°F).
Passed inspection
Bruchi’s, 5209 W. Okanogan Place, Kennewick, Routine March 10 (0 Red, 0 Blue)
Chinook Middle School, 4891 W. 27th Ave., Kennewick, Routine March 9 (10 Red, 2 Blue)
Circle K (Food service), 3957 Van Giesen St., West Richland, Follow-up March 9 (0 Red, 0 Blue)
Coalcoman Restaurant, 528 S. Ely St., Kennewick, Follow-up March 9 (0 Red, 7 Blue)
Dollar Tree (Store), 7411 Canal Drive, Kennewick, Routine March 6 (0 Red, 0 Blue)
Indaba Coffee, 8530 W. Gage Blvd., Kennewick, Routine March 8 (15 Red, 0 Blue)
Kona Ice Of Pasco (Mobile), Event, Routine March 4 (0 Red, 0 Blue)
Lincoln Elementary School, 4901 W. 21st Ave., Kennewick, Routine March 9 (0 Red, 0 Blue)
McDonald’s, 1409 N. Kellogg St., Kennewick, Routine March 10 (0 Red, 0 Blue)
McDonald’s, 1922 N. Steptoe St., Kennewick, Routine March 8 (5 Red, 0 Blue)
Pizza Hut, 1915 N. Steptoe St., Kennewick, Routine March 8 (30 Red, 0 Blue)
The Chicken Shack, 4390 Van Giesen St., West Richland, Follow-up March 9 (5 Red, 5 Blue)
