Condensing unit leaking on turkey. Mold-like growth. Miami meat store inspection issues
On the upside, Monday’s state inspection of a South Miami-Dade meat market didn’t include roaches, rodents or Stop-Use Orders, unlike most failed inspections.
On the downside, Florida Department of Agriculture inspectors found enough violations at Meat Place Plus to fill six PDF pages. Most inspections that get the worst inspection result, “Re-Inspection Required,” contain two or three pages of violations.
A spokesperson for the store at 11108 SW 184th St. said the inspectors gave store staff time to deal with the problems that could be addressed right then, and the store ordered necessary new equipment, such as the latest food thermometers. The inspection, she said, would be used as a teaching moment.
A re-inspection will be done on or before Dec. 4. There were no Stop-Use Orders put on any areas or equipment, so Meat Place Plus will remain fully operational.
Some of the problems Inspectors Wenndy Ayerdis and Julio Azpurua found Monday, some of which were corrected on site:
▪ Up front, there was “No handwash sink available at the register where commercially processed pickled sausages are served to customers.” The sausage and the serving of sausage got moved to the processing area, where there’s a handwash sink.
Processing area problems
The following violations were found in the processing area.
▪ “Food employees didn’t wash hands between entering and exiting the establishment to return working with meats; and between entering and exiting the walk-in cooler to continue handling clean equipment.”
▪ “Multiple knives used to cut meat were wedged between the preparation tables; and between the table and wall across from the beef cold display unit.”
▪ A “leak from the condensing unit of the chicken display case fell directly on various pieces of poultry (turkey, chicken wings) displayed in the unit.” As the drops fell on the turkey and chicken wings, so did the Stop Sales.
▪ “Food employees wearing single-use gloves did not change gloves between tasks.” This included leaving the area, then working with raw meat or clean food equipment.
▪ A prep table slicer had “old food residue on the plate, blade guard and handle.”
▪ The blades of the conch tenderizer were decorated with “old yellow food residue encrusted on the blades.”
▪ “No splash guard present between the handwash sink near the seafood display unit and the storage area where the meat tray packaging items are located.”
▪ “Scored cutting boards at all the meat processing tables.”
▪ “Green mold-like growth encrusted between the glass panes of the beef and pork cold display unit.”
▪ “Old food residue encrusted on the wall behind the conch tenderizer.”
▪ A “large bin of chopped collard greens placed next to the chicken display unit measured 49 degrees.” That needs to be kept under 41 degrees and got hit with a Stop Sale.
▪ “No probe thermometer available to measure the temperatures of cold foods.”
▪ “Food employees wearing white coats were covered from shoulders to thighs with blood and food residue.”
▪ A slicer blade had “rust encrusted” on it.
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Issues in the backroom
▪ “No sanitizer test strips for the chlorine and quaternary ammonium sanitizers present.” This makes it hard to know if your sanitizer is too weak or too strong as per federal or state regulations.
▪ “No sink stoppers available to wash, rinse and sanitize at the (three) compartments of the ware wash sink.”
▪ “The faucet at the three-compartment sink doesn’t reach all three compartments when the water is turned on.”
▪ The meat grinder placed in the walk-in cooler had “Rusted, pitted auger/agitator and attachment parts.”
▪ The handwash sink had neither paper towels nor hot water.
▪ “Packages of raw beef and chicken found leaking onto collard greens in the walk-in cooler.” More collard greens hit with a Stop Sale. Normally, the collard greens wouldn’t be there, but the store orders more than usual to satisfy their popularity at holiday dinners.
▪ Ground beef stored uncovered in the walk-in cooler.
▪ “Black mold-like grime encrusted in the interior housing and ice-making portion of the ice machine.”
▪ An open package of deli ham didn’t have a date mark. The food employee couldn’t say for sure when it was opened. Stop Sale on the deli ham.
