Maricopa restaurants cited by health department

Food products with no expiration dates and employees not washing their hands correctly were among the health violations handed out to Maricopa restaurants last month.

In January the Pinal County Department of Health Services inspected 13 Maricopa restaurants, citing three - McDonald’s inside Walmart, Subway and Mariscos El Pulpo Loco – with less than perfect scores.

McDonald’s was cited for not storing food at proper temperature, Subway for employees not correctly washing their hands and El Pulpo Loco for holding food at improper temperatures and not putting expiration dates on food products.

For these violations all three restaurants received a score of Satisfactory.

Health inspectors conduct random inspections aimed at ensuring all proper steps are taken to maintain consumer safety, Pinal County officials said. 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. Other scores are “S” for satisfactory, “U” for unacceptable and “N” for needs improvement.

Those eateries receiving perfect scores were Carl’s Jr, AFC Sushi, The Duke at Rancho El Dorado, Tacos N’ More, Panda Express, Baskin Robbins, Domino’s Pizza, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Quiznos and Arby’s.

File photo