Rodent poop, live roaches and ‘pink residue’ near a Miami 7-Eleven’s food and Big Gulps
Rodents and roaches put a Miami 7-Eleven in hot water — of which the store didn’t have enough — during a Florida Department of Agriculture inspector’s Tuesday’s visit.
The inspection may also get the store at 2 NW 79th St., the corner of Miami Avenue and 79th Street, in hot water with 7-Eleven’s home office because it’s a corporate-owned store, not a franchise. Another corporate-owned Miami 7-Eleven failed inspection in April.
READ MORE: Roaches shut down coffee machine and mold on a Slushee dispenser at a Miami 7-Eleven
Any possible punitive lightning from the corporate office Olympus will come as a consequence of possible further Stop Use Order lightning from Inspector Pedro Llanos. After listing the violations, the inspection report includes this warning:
“If evidence of pest infestation is observed on the next inspection, a Stop-Use Order will be issued on all receiving areas of the establishment and the establishment will no longer be allowed to receive additional food items; a Stop-Use Order of all processing equipment (if applicable) will be issued; and a Stop Sale Order of all exposed food items (if applicable) will be issued until the infestation is eradicated.”
READ MORE: Bugs in pasta, unsafe chicken, beef, pork, exposed fish at a Miami supermarket
Unlike restaurant inspectors from the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Ag Department inspectors can’t close down an establishment for a terrible inspection. They can, however, issue Stop Sale orders on food and Stop Use Orders on equipment and areas. Enough of those in the wrong places and opening a store might be impossible or, at best, fruitless.
Initial Stop Use Orders stormed down on this 7-Eleven like afternoon rain Tuesday. Here are some of the violations found by Inspector Llanos.
▪ “Numerous” flies were seen around the retail section.
▪ “Dead insects” were seen in the reach-in ice cream freezer and “on the windowsills throughout the establishment.”
▪ As for other signs of vermin, there were “numerous rodent droppings found under the entrance door” and “live roaches found under the counter of the self-service beverage stations.” In the food preparation area, “numerous rodent droppings and live roaches were found under the prep table.”
Stop Use Orders hit the two self-service stations and the food preparation area.
▪ The self-service beverage station handwashing sink scored the unhappy hat trick of lacking hot water, soap or any way to dry hands.
“Hot water must be restored in self service area before the Stop Use can be released.”
▪ Inside the ice chute and dispensing nozzles of the self-service soda machine, Inspector Llanos saw an “accumulation of white/pink residue.”
▪ It was 11:25 a.m. In the food service ares, the tongs, pizza wheel and spatula had been working since 6 a.m. without a break for washing, rinsing and sanitizing. That should’ve happened by 10 a.m.
▪ Between uses, the tongs were kept “inside a container next to grill rollers with old food debris.”
▪ Speaking of “old food debris,” it was found on the bottom shelves of cabinets; on backroom reach-in freezer shelves storing food; and the counter under the self-service beverage machines and the condiment cart both displayed “old food debris accumulation.”
▪ The outside of the grill rollers had “heavy soil and debris accumulated.”
▪ Inside the walk-in cooler from which customers pulled food products, there was “heavy soil buildup on the floor” and “heavy dust buildup on the fanguards.”
▪ The aisles of the store had “soil buildup” and the food service area had “heavy soil buildup on the floor” throughout the area.
