Health inspection issues at Valley eateries

Black debris growing on soda nozzles and expired food being stored in the refrigeration unit were among the violations handed out to nearby Valley restaurants that failed their April health inspection.

Maricopa County routinely inspects restaurants to ensure the quality and safety of food. Health inspectors look for violations, such as storing food at improper temperatures, employees not washing hands and other health and safety issues.

Each of these violations is assigned a point value, which is then used to determine the restaurant's score. A gold star is the highest ranking possible and means a business scored in the top 25 percent; a silver star denotes a restaurant scoring in the middle 50 percent, and no award means a restaurant scored in the bottom 25 percent.

If a restaurant receives no award, they are given an opportunity to comply with the health inspector's complaints and then re-inspected.

Here is a look at locations cited by health inspectors in April, along with some of the violations that caused them to fail their inspections last month.

Bell Italia Pizzeria, 4909 E. Chandler Blvd.
● Black organic debris on the inside of soda nozzles.
● Food not being held at proper temperature.

A-Town Tavern Eatery, 3820 E. Ray Road
● Expired food in walk-in.
● Food not date marked for expiration.

Ahwatukee Country Club, 12430 S. 48th St.
● Food has no expiration dates.
● Employee drooped knife on floor, picked it up, put it in sink and went back to prepping food without washing hands.

Ramiro’s, 9666 E. Riggs Road
● Food not held at proper temperature.