County health department knocks 3 Maricopa eateries

The Pinal County Health Department inspected 11 Maricopa food establishments in June, citing three with less than perfect scores.

Those dinged from a perfect score of “E” to the next step down “S” were Sonic, Mi Casita Restaurant and Great Wall Chinese.

Sonic was was cited for holding foods at improper temperatures and thawing techniques. Mi Casita was storing raw animal food products above ready to eat foods and not keeping foods at proper temperatures, and Great Wall had an improperly labeled container.

Those receiving perfect scores were Rosati’s Pizza, Arena Sports Grill, The New HQ, Brooklyn Boys Italian Restaurant and Pizza, McDonald’s, Carl’s Jr, Water and Ice and Taco Bell.

Health inspectors conduct random inspections aimed at ensuring that all the proper steps are being taken to maintain consumer safety, Pinal County officials said. To that end, the department can issue violations that are either critical or non-critical. Critical violations must be fixed within 10 days and affect a location’s score. Non-critical violations must be fixed within 90 days.

Grades are based on the number of violations, with an “E” for excellent, being the highest possible score an establishment can receive. Other scores are: “S” for satisfactory; “U” for unacceptable; and “N” for needs improvement.

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Photo by Michael K. Rich