Nine Polk County food vendors fall short of standards in latest inspections. See why here
In a light week of inspections, nine Polk County food vendors fell short of standards from Feb. 26 to March 3, according to state inspection reports.
Of 53 total inspections throughout the county, 44 met standards and six had perfect initial inspections -- meaning inspections that were not mandated by previous violations.
Across the county, there were no violations for rodents, insects or other pests during the week.
Among the nine vendors that fell short, requiring follow-up inspections, seven were permanent, brick-and-mortar restaurants, one was a caterer and one was a food truck. There were 29 total violations among them, 12 of which were largely clerical: things such as expired licenses, food manager certification or employee training.
View for yourself: Check out inspections for any Polk County restaurant in The Ledger's searchable database
The other violations ran the gamut from food-handling violations (such as storing raw animal foods improperly) to broken or soiled equipment or breaches of best practices (such as using the handwash sink for things other than handwashing).
Some violations, while they might not seem major to the common diner, are still enough to be deemed intermediate or high priority, and thus require warnings or an administrative complaint and a follow-up inspection. That’s why we detail the violations for all restaurants that fell into this category each week, so readers can decide the seriousness for themselves.
As a reminder, the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation says an inspection is “a ‘snapshot’ of conditions present at the time of the inspection. … An inspection conducted on any given day may not be representative of the overall, long-term conditions at the establishment.”
And it’s common for restaurants to have violations that make you go "yuck" and still meet standards. Readers who are curious can go to The Ledger’s searchable database online at https://data.theledger.com/restaurant-inspections/polk.
Feb. 19-25: 2 Polk restaurants fall short of standards. Five are perfect
Vendors that fell short, and why
Azalea Park, 1325 Grasslands Blvd., Lakeland: On Feb. 28, the restaurant had just two violations. One was for the person in charge lacking proof of certification (an intermediate violation). The other was for a case of chicken breasts stored on the floor in the walk-in freezer. The case was removed from the floor.
Dundee Diner, 28089 U.S. 27, Dundee: On Feb. 28, the restaurant had five violations, including one high-priority violation. That was for raw animal foods with different minimum cooking temperatures that weren’t properly separated in a cooler (in this case, raw chicken stored over raw fish). One intermediate violation was for two gallon jugs in the handwash sink (indicating the sink was being used for purposes other than handwashing). Another intermediate was for the person in charge lacking proof of certification. Finally, there were two basic violations, one for fish being thawed improperly on a prep table and another for a damaged wall by the dry storage racks.
Joinery, 640 E. Main St., Lakeland: On Feb. 27, the food hall in downtown Lakeland had three violations. One intermediate violation was for a soiled ice machine. Another was for the person in charge lacking proof of certification. One basic violation was for a soiled ice chute in the dining room.
Blue Dog Craft Barbecue, 640 E. Main St., Lakeland: On Feb. 27, this restaurant inside The Joinery had two violations. One was for the food manager having an expired certification. The other was for “cloth used as a food-contact surface,” in this case blue and white towels on top of meat.
Salavate Pasta, 502 E. Main St., Lakeland: On Feb. 27, this caterer based at Catapult in downtown Lakeland had a single violation: The food manager’s certification was expired.
Taqueria El Dorado, 1155 W. Pipkin Road, Lakeland: On Feb. 27, this mobile food vendor had four violations. One intermediate violation was for having no “written procedures for employees to follow in response to a vomiting or diarrheal event.” And there were three basic violations. One for two chest-style freezers with food inside (chicken, beef, potatoes), a bag of onions and a case of bottled water that were stored outside. Another was for its mobile food vehicle license number not being properly affixed on the outside. The last was for its service window being left open when not serving food. In a callback the following day, the only violation that remained was the license number on the outside of the vehicle.
Mia Pizza, 2440 Sand Mine Road, Davenport: On Feb. 26, the restaurant received four violations. The lone high-priority violation was for operating with an expired Division of Hotels and Restaurants license. There were two intermediate violations: one for failing to provide proof of state-mandated food safety training for employees. The other was for having no chemical test kit for sanitizer used in warewashing. Finally, a single basic violation was for single-service items that were improperly stored, in this case, pizza boxes that were stored on the floor next to the front counter.
Sundays Grill, 2414 Sandmine Road, Davenport: On Feb. 26, the restaurant had seven violations, including two high priority. Those were for operating with an expired license and storing cooked chicken wings in a lexan pan inside a hotel pan of raw ground beef. One intermediate violation was for hand wash sinks being used for other purposes: a sanitizer bucket in the hand sink in the storage area and six pans in the sink on the cook line. The other intermediate was for lacking proof of required food-safety training for employees. Finally, there were three basic violations. One was for boxes of oil stored on the floor in the storage room and cook line. Another was for an “in-use wet wiping cloth/towel used under cutting board. The last was for a leaking pipe at a handwash sink.
SMB Advanced Solutions, 3975-3979 New Tampa Highway, Lakeland: On Feb. 26, the eatery had just one violation: Making a renovation without having plans approved.
Feb. 12-18: 15 Polk County food vendors fall short of standards, 2 for pests. Eight were perfect
Perfection
With so many small things that can go wrong during an inspection, it’s incredibly tough to have a perfect one, with zero violations. Yet these six Polk County food vendors did so from Feb. 26 to March 3. Two were permanent restaurants, three were food trucks and one was a caterer.
Mixon's Beef Jerky, mobile vendor, 4808 U.S. 98 N., Lakeland
Dominos 3119, 1709 Shepherd Road, Lakeland
Dominick's, caterer, 502 E Main St, Lakeland
Mas Que Fruta LLC, mobile vendor, 211 N. Wabash Ave., Lakeland
La Carcacha Taqueria, mobile vendor, 224 S. 1st St., Lake Wales
Taco Bell #4778, 7840 Osceloa Polk Line Road, Davenport
Feb. 5-11: One Polk County food vendor shut down by inspector. Among violations: No potable water
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: Nine Polk County food vendors fall short in inspections. See why here