Priority violations at 31 Livingston County restaurants in August
LIVINGSTON COUNTY — Each month, the Livingston County Health Department inspects restaurants, schools, and other facilities for unsafe food practices.
Good food safety practices are critical to preventing foodborne illness and promoting public health. The Daily publishes reports on "priority" violations — ones that could "directly lead to contamination of food or increase the risk of transmitting a foodborne illness,” as well as corrective measures taken. All reports are available at swordsolutions.com/inspections.
A total of 31 dining establishments inspected in August had priority violations. Follow-up inspections are also provided, if priority violation corrections were unresolved at the end of the previous month.
Six priority violations were found at the following location:
Sahara Middle Eastern Grill, 799 S. Latson Road in Howell
Raw chicken was stored over ready-to-eat foods in a cooler. The cooler was rearranged. More than 10 cans were dented and bulging. They were set aside to be discarded. Most of the foods did not have date-marks. All the foods are now marked with the discard date. There were ants present in the facility. The facility does not have a licensed pest control operator, and there were not traps present. During a follow-up inspection, no ants were discovered. A copy of an invoice from a licensed pest control operator was provided. There were no paper towels at the kitchen hand sink near the swinging doors. The door was repeatedly hitting the dispenser, so the battery-operated dispenser was turned off. During a follow-up inspection, paper towels were available, but the dispenser was still not in use. A hand sink was blocked by a rack and a garbage can. They were moved.
Five priority violations were found at the following location:
Rollin Stone Wood Fired Pizza, 9406 Village Place Boulevard in Brighton
Feta cheese had discard dates that had passed. They were discarded. Ranch was not dated and was holding at 50 degrees. It was discarded. A walk-in cooler was holding food at 47-50 degrees. Foods were moved to a freezer or line cooler. A package of tortillas was stored directly on top of raw shell eggs. The tortillas were moved away from the eggs. Food items were dated for eight days. They were re-dated. A probe thermometer was 10 degrees low. It was calibrated.
Three priority violations were found at the following locations:
Cottage Inn Pizza, 721 W. Grand River Ave. in Brighton
In-house prepared food items were prepared after their consume-by date, including ranch and garlic cream cheese. They were discarded. There was a food container stored in the hand sink. It was removed. There was a severely dented can of olives. It was discarded.
Culver's of Howell, 3900 E. Grand River Ave. in Howell
Valves attached to a mop sink were improperly installed, and health inspectors were expected to follow up. Foods were holding at temperatures that were too high, including coleslaw holding at 61 degrees in a cooler that was not properly plugged in. All food in the cooler was discarded and it was plugged back in. Custard mix hoppers were holding at 48-53 degrees. A call for repair was placed. Cheese was holding at 44 degrees. Five cans of sauerkraut were dented along the seams. They were set aside to be returned.
Dairy Queen, 6450 M-36 in Hamburg
Previously cooled gravy was reheated to 110 degrees, then placed in the hot holding unit. It was properly reheated. The soap dispenser at the hand sink was empty. It was refilled. A hand towel dispenser at a hand sink was empty. It was refilled.
Randall Residence at Encore Village, 10801 E. Grand River Ave. in Brighton
Raw-shelled eggs were being combined for breakfast service. Pasteurized liquid egg product was available. A label machine was improperly programmed to date food items for eight days instead of seven days. It was reprogrammed and the items were properly labeled. None were expired. Several dented cans were removed.
Two priority violations were found at the following locations:
Chemung Hills Golf and Banquet Center, 3125 Golf Club Road in Howell
The dish machine was not dispensing chlorine sanitizer. Proper sanitizer levels were restored. Several in-house prepared foods were beyond their seven-day discard dates, including milk, blue cheese dressing, marinara sauce, sliced ham. The items were discarded.
Courtyard by Marriott, 7799 Conference Center Drive in Brighton
Unwrapped apples for self-service were on top of a display cooler in the bar. The apples were placed in individual plastic bags. Food items were past their expiration dates, including seven cartons of chocolate milk and two cartons of white milk. They were discarded.
Dragon Court, 7570 M-36 in Hamburg
A second follow-up inspection was conducted on previous violations and a $100 fee was assessed. The inspector observed proper food storage. Food and non-food contact surfaces were visibly cleaner, and staff indicated they were no longer using a slicer.
Huron Meadows, 8765 Hammel Road in Brighton
A spray bottle of disinfectant was not labeled. It was labeled. There were no chlorine test kits. A photograph was emailed to the health department showing they were obtained.
La Marsa, 10051 E. Highland Road, Ste. 37 in Howell
Medication was stored in a condiment cooler. It was removed. A hose was attached to the mop sink faucet without a sidekick valve required by the plumbing code. A sidekick valve was installed.
Little Caesars, 4096 Grand River Ave. in Howell
Pizza cutters were cleaned nightly but should have been cleaned at least once every four hours. A manager stated they would implement this cleaning frequency policy. A timer had not been started for pizzas being held at room temperature. The timer was set.
Arta's Italian, 2394 Genoa Business Park Drive in Brighton
Roasted garlic in oil was kept at room temperature. It was discarded. The dish machine at the bar was not sanitizing. It was repaired.
Panera Bread, 3950 E. Grand River Ave. in Howell
A cookie was handled with a deli paper, but the staff member's thumb touched the cookie. A manager stated the employee would be retrained and they would place tongs by the cookies. A staff member at the drive-thru handled money and assisted with food preparation without first washing their hands before putting gloves on.
Rollerama, 6995 W. Grand River Ave. in Brighton
The pizza line cooler was holding food at 44 degrees above and below. The Pepsi cooler that stores the raw pizzas was also holding at 44 degrees. During a follow-up inspection, the cooler was holding food properly at 41 degrees or below. There was no probe thermometer available. One was obtained.
Snappers on the Water, 6484 Bennett Lake Road in Fenton
A walk-in cooler was holding food at 49-53 degrees. Raw meats were transferred to a freezer. Other food items were discarded. There were an excessive amount of house flies and fruit flies in the facility. There were harborage conditions, including empty beer bottles stored in the basement attracting flies, a soda gun holder and two nozzles that were not cleaned and contained fruit fly eggs.
Subway, 847 Latson Road in Howell
A spray bottle of chlorine cleaner/sanitizer did not have detectable levels of chlorine. The sanitizer solution was re-made and tested. A sanitizer test kit was not used to test the level of chlorine for a sanitizer solution.
Sushi Zen, 114 W. Grand River Ave. in Brighton
Staff handled raw chicken with gloves on and changed gloves to handle ready-to-eat food without first washing hands. They washed their hands. A cooler was holding food at 50-51 degrees. The cooler was unplugged. It was plugged back in.
Texas Roadhouse, 6800 Whitmore Lake Road in Brighton
There was no soap at a hand sink and walk-in meat processing cooler. There was no paper towel in a walk-in meat processing cooler.
Vista Springs Howell, 605 Pere Marquette in Howell
Raw ground beef was stored above ready-to-eat pre-cooked meatballs. The products were rearranged. While conducting food prep, an employee retrieved a dropped utensil from the floor and delivered the utensil to the dishwashing area. The employee did not change food handling gloves before returning to food prep. The proper procedure was discussed.
One priority violation was found at the following locations:
Boba Bare Craft Tea, 9689 Village Place Boulevard in Brighton
There were no paper towels in one of the restrooms. They were restocked during the inspection.
Bolicious Tea, 919 S. Latson Road in Howell
Plan review documents were required for a new prep station with a sink. Remodel plans were submitted and approved, and a plumbing permit was finalized.
Captain's on Main, 423 W. Main St. in Brighton
Butter with roasted garlic was being held at room temperature without a policy for using time as a public health control instead of temperature. A written policy was emailed to the facility and will be printed and kept on site. The butter will now be labeled with the time it leaves refrigeration and the four-hour discard time.
Domino's, 1876 N. Latson Road in Howell
An employee restroom did not have hand soap. A dispenser was refilled.
Don Juan Mexican Restaurant, 9475 Village Place Boulevard in Brighton
During a follow inspection, a cooler was holding food properly at 41 degrees.
Firewood Grill, 1202 Grand River Ave. in Howell
During a follow-up inspection on a previous violation, repair parts for a cooler had not arrived. The unit was taken out of service. Foods were stored in an adjacent cooler.
Greecian Island Restaurant, 9994 E. Grand River Ave. in Brighton
During an enforcement follow-up on a previous violation, proper cooling methods were observed.
Howell Nature Center, 1005 Triangle Lake Road in Howell
Pictures of sanitizer test strips were emailed to the health department to correct a previous violation.
Label Kitchen and Bar, 125 E. Grand River Ave. in Brighton
Food items were holding at improper temperatures, including house-made mayo and dairy-based dressings at 72 degrees. They were discarded. Cooked chicken was in an inadequate ice bath holding at 47-62 degrees. They were moved to a cooler. A cooler at the server's station was holding food at 44-55 degrees. Food items in the cooler were moved or discarded.
Moe's BarBar Shop, 106 E. Grand River Ave. in Howell
A sanitizer dispenser in the dish machine was empty. It was refilled.
Old Hickory Bar, 7071 Bennett Lake Road in Fenton
A refrigerator was holding food at 46-48 degrees. The refrigerator was repaired.
Panera Bread, 9430 Village Place Boulevard in Brighton
Staff on the line wearing single-use gloves touched their aprons and touched the swinging door. The person in charge stated staff would be retrained.
Sunrise Family Diner, 2375 E. Grand River Ave. in Howell
Several cooked vegetable containers did not have date marking labels. Proper labels were attached.
Subscribe: Get all your breaking news and unlimited access to our local coverage
Taco Bell, 1031 S. Michigan Ave. in Howell
Food items were holding at improper temperatures, including diced tomato at 62 degrees, cut lettuce at 63 degrees, shredded cheese at 61 degrees, sour cream at 59 degrees, and guacamole at 62degreesF. A person in charge realized the top prep area of a cooler was never turned off. The food was discarded. The top prep cooler was shut down to properly hold food in the morning.
Tap-In's, 4444 E. Grand River Ave. in Howell
A stem thermometer was not available for food. A photograph showing a thermometer had been obtained was emailed to the health department.
Wendy's, 1022 S. Michigan Ave. in Howell
Food items were holding at improper temperatures, including strawberry ice cream mix at 44-46 degrees and frosty mix at 49-51 degrees. They were discarded. During a follow-up inspection, the foods were holding at a proper temperature below 41 degrees.
— Contact reporter Jennifer Eberbach at jeberbach@livingstondaily.com.
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Priority violations at 31 Livingston County restaurants in August
