In a light week of inspections, 4 Polk restaurants fall short of standards. One is perfect
In a light week of state inspections the week after Christmas, no Polk County restaurants were closed by inspectors, but four received violations that required a follow-up and one restaurant received a perfect inspection.
In all, 23 Polk County restaurants had inspections from Dec. 25 to 30, and it was a good week. Nineteen met standards and none received violations for insects or rodents.
The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation carries out restaurant inspections and describes them as “a ‘snapshot’ of conditions present at the time of the inspection.” And it says the reports are not necessarily an indication of common conditions at the restaurant.
Violations are given for a wide variety of problems, from broken or unclean equipment, to walls and ceiling tiles in disrepair or food that’s stored or cooked improperly. Some are more clerical in nature, such as expired licenses or failure to provide proof of state-mandated training for employees.
Restaurants that didn’t meet standards
Here’s a detailed look at the restaurants that failed to meet standards during the week and the reasons for the violations. In all cases, a follow-up inspection was required, but no follow-ups appeared in state reports as of Thursday.
Eggs Up Brunch, 19301 U.S. 27, Lake Wales: On Dec. 27, the restaurant received four violations, one of which was high-priority. That was for raw animal food stored over canned or bottled drinks, in this case an egg mixture that was stored over Florida’s Natural juice, according to the inspector’s report. The restaurant also received two intermediate violations. In one case, an employee used the handwash sink to fill a bucket with water for biscuit gravy mix. The other was for not having proof of required training for employees.
Wingstop, 304 E. Van Fleet Drive, Bartow: On Dec. 27, the restaurant received just two violations: one because its current license wasn’t displayed, the other for a failure to provide proof of employee training.
Pan 4 U Latino Bakery, 1302 W. Daughtry Road, Lakeland: On Dec. 28, the restaurant received two violations. One was for a damaged wall near a chest freezer. The other was for no proof of employee training.
Bedrock Wings, 127 Kentucky Ave. S., Lakeland: On Dec. 28, the restaurant received six violations, including three high-priority. Among those, the inspector noted raw beef and ready-to-eat sausage stored in the same pan and raw eggs stored over raw beef in a walk-in cooler. The other high-priority violation was for a warewashing sanitizing solution that exceeded the maximum concentration allowed. The restaurant also had an intermediate violation for doing renovations without submitting a plan for approval. Two basic violations were for carbon dioxide or helium tanks that weren’t secured properly and To-Go trays that weren’t “stored inverted or protected from contamination.”
Perfection
In the slow week from Dec. 25 to 30, only one Polk County restaurant received a perfect initial inspection with zero violations. An initial inspection just means it wasn’t a follow-up inspection mandated by previous violations.
Kua Lao, 114 W. Central Ave., Lake Wales: The restaurant received its latest perfect inspection on Dec. 28. In three inspections listed in state reports, it’s received just one violation – a single basic violation in August. It was also perfect in an inspection in May.
Keep in mind as you read
Remember that in some cases, violations are noted are technical issues not directly linked to hygiene or cleanliness. Remember, too, that broken refrigerators, chipped tiles or fast work may add up to unintended mistakes.
Regardless, if you notice abuses of state standards, report them and DBPR will send inspectors. Call 1-850-487-1395.
The terminology
What does all that terminology in state restaurant inspections mean?
Basic violations are those considered against best practices.
A warning is issued after an inspector documents violations that must be corrected by a certain date or within a specified number of days from receipt of the inspection report.
An administrative complaint is a form of legal action taken by the division. Insufficient compliance after a warning, a pattern of repeat violations or existence of serious conditions that warrant immediate action may result in the division initiating an administrative complaint against the establishment. Says the division website: “Correcting the violations is important, but penalties may still result from violations corrected after the warning time was over.”
An emergency order — when a restaurant is closed by the inspector — is based on an immediate threat to the public. Here, the Division of Hotels and Restaurants director has determined that the establishment must stop doing business and any division license is suspended to protect health, safety or welfare of the public.
A 24-hour call-back inspection will be performed after an emergency closure or suspension of license and the establishment may reopen only after inspection shows that all high-priority violations that caused the suspension are corrected.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Four Polk restaurants fail to meet standards in week after Christmas
