Nearby eateries hit with health citations

Food that expired more than seven days ago but being stored for use, dirty equipment and employees using their bare hands to handle food were among the violations handed out to nearby restaurants last month.

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, not washing hands or other maintenance 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 later inspected and given the opportunity to comply with the health inspector’s complaints. Here is a look at those locations and a few of the violations that caused them to fail their inspection in June.

Apple Spice Junction, 7425 S. Harl Ave.:  Food contact surfaces of utensils and equipment are not clean to sight and touch. Cooked “frog eye” pasta date marked for disposal day before was available in walk-in.

Arizona Bread Company, 315 W. Elliot Rd.:  Cooked ham cold cuts in reach-in cooler on line dated 5/29; embargoed at time. Chicken in prep sink thawing at room temperature.

Mama’s Pizzeria, 825 W Baseline Rd.:  Foods not rapidly cooled using acceptable methods. Cold potentially hazardous foods not held at 41 degrees Fahrenheit or below.

Souper Salad # 54, 1180 W. Elliott Rd.:  Food holding and storage time not within food safety limits. Package of chili dated 6/11 still available for use in walk-in (two days past use by date).

A-Town Tavern & Eatery, 3820 E. Ray Rd.:  Gravy date marked for discard one day ago, house made ranch dressing date marked for discard three days ago, cream cheese mixtures date marked for discard seven days ago stored in reach-in and walk-in available for service. Container of (cooked) shrimp ceviche prepared three days ago, per manager, not date marked. Manager date marked ceviche. Watermelon cut four days ago, per manager, stored in walk-in without date mark. Manager discarded.

Ahwatukee Country Club, 12432 S. 48th St.:  Cut cooked chicken breast, cut deli ham, opened package of hot dogs, container of baked potatoes, all prepared an unknown period of time ago, per manager, without date mark. Manager discarded items.

Thai Basil, 4221 E. Chandler Blvd.:  Cold potentially hazardous foods not held at 41 degrees Fahrenheit or below.

Waffle House #1604, 4824 E. Chandler Blvd.:  Observed employee with bare hands place hamburger buns into container during prep.

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