Health inspections check safety of Merced County restaurants, kitchens and markets
Repeat violations for inadequate sanitation earned a church school kitchen in Merced the only “unsatisfactory” score from the Merced County Department of Public Health among more than 130 food-safety inspections since the start of April.
The St. Paul Lutheran Church and School, at 2916 N. McKee Rd., received 14 violation points during a May 24 inspection by the county’s Environmental Health Division. The inspector noted that several problems detected in late 2021 were still issues more than a year and a half later.
Those violations included expired chlorine test strips to verify whether the kitchen’s dishwasher has enough sanitizer to ensure that equipment and utensils are properly disinfected. An inspector noted that the dish machine was providing only 10 parts per million of chlorine, compared to food safety regulations calling for a minimum of 50 ppm of chlorine for at least 30 seconds.
The inspection data also indicated that the St. Paul’s kitchen lacked proof of any current employee holding a required food safety manager certificate from an American National Standards Institute-approved food handling/food safety examination.
The three violations combined to add up to 14 violation points – the threshold for an “unsatisfactory” rating, according to the county’s website.
The vast majority of inspections at restaurants, cafeteria kitchens, markets and commissaries between early April and June 19 resulted in “good” ratings with six or fewer violation points, while 20 businesses received “satisfactory” ratings with between seven and 13 violation points.
In instances of particularly egregious violations, such as a lack of hot water, plumbing issues causing drainage backups into a kitchen, or evidence of active insect or vermin infestations with food contamination, a restaurant operator may voluntarily close the business until the issues are resolved, or inspectors may order a business to be closed pending a reinspection.
The Lutheran school in Merced was among 69 public and private school facilities visited by inspectors since April. Besides the lone “unsatisfactory” rating, 56 of the school kitchens, warehouses or snack bars earned “good” ratings and 12 others received “satisfactory” ratings.
