Fruit flies, expired condiments, mold found in Springfield-area kitchens in May

A new Springfield restaurant racked up almost 40 health inspection violations in May, including 19 risk factors to public safety.

On May 22, for the first routine inspection after it’s pre-open on April 19, Mr. Hibachi on East Ash Street received 39 violations divided into three categories: risk factor, non-compliance and repeat violations.

Some of the violations, according to the report, show the facility did not have the needed paperwork from the supplier for the fish used for sushi preparation at the time of the inspection. The fish was then observed over raw vegetables in the standing cooler in the kitchen. A container of bleach was observed on top of a container of soy sauce in the dish room, which was removed during the inspection.

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The inspection found all three hand sinks without paper towel and soap for drying hands, as well as no signs to notify employees to wash hands, as per according to Illinois Food Code.

Follow up inspections done by Spegal on May 28 and 31 after the initial visit found all violations were corrected at the restaurant.

Food establishments are inspected by the Sangamon County Department of Public Health on an annual schedule that is determined by assigned risk type. The risk types are high, medium, or low risk, as defined by the Illinois Food Service Sanitation Code. These are determined by the complexity of food preparation taking place at the facility. Routine inspections are conducted unannounced. Follow up and complaint inspections are conducted as needed.

Critical violations concern hygiene, food temperatures, sanitizing procedures, and cross contamination. Non-critical violations concern the maintenance and cleanliness of a facility.

Here are the Sangamon County restaurants that received more than 10 violations from the health department during the month of May.

Cancun

Location: 420 S. Crossing Road, Sherman

Date/inspection type: May 23, routine inspection.

What: Result found 26 violations with 9 risk factors.

Some notes from the inspection: The ice machine is observed to have an accumulation of mold/soil on the ice baffle. PIC was made aware of this build-up and will be cleaning and sanitizing its surface. The utensil drawer along the prep station is observed to have a significant number of soil/debris in the bottom of the drawers and on the walls of the drawers.

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Scoop Du Jour

Location: West Plummer Blvd., Chatham

Date/inspection type: May 15, routine inspection.

What: Result found 17 violations with 5 risk factors.

Some notes from the inspection: Observed an open bottle of Comet sitting on a shelf above food contact utensils and bowls. Discussed with person in charge and relocated. Observed the following areas in need of repairs: Sections of the counters in the front house area are being held together with duct tape. Duct tape is not an approved material for construction in food service. Areas should be repaired so counter is not fraying or coming away and tape is no longer used.

Di Piero's

Location: 518 E. Adams St., Springfield

Date/inspection type: May 2, routine inspection.

What: Result found 16 violations with 8 risk factors.

Some notes from the inspection: There was accumulated food debris observed during multiple inspections on floors and sides of equipment. The kitchen sink was not functioning during the inspection and multiple foods were not marked with dates. Observed a number of condiments in the dish machine room to be outdated and turning rancid. Two mustard bottles were from 2020 and were opened and definitely had a strong vinegar odor. Discarded during inspection. Then a bulk Worcestershire bottle was observed half used and from 2017. That bottle had mold around the lid. The bottle was discarded. Owner mentioned the bottle was from the previously owner.

Cuatro Amigo

Location: 14758 Old Route 54, New Berlin

Date/inspection type: May 3, routine inspection.

What: Result found 17 violations with 8 risk factors.

Some notes from the inspection: A food employee was observed entering the kitchen and immediately handling clean dishes without washing hands. A food employee was also observed moving from handling dirty dishes to clean without washing hands. A sanitizer bucket was not prepared for the inspector and was corrected when the person in charge arrived at the restaurant.

Jaalsa

Location: 3114 S. 6th St., Springfield

Date/inspection type: May 2, routine inspection.

What: Result found 21 violations, with 11 risk factors.

Some notes from the inspection: Observed several containers of food in walk-in cooler to not be covered. Food containers were covered with foil during inspection. A bowl of raw chicken wings and box of raw chicken to be stored directly on floor in dry storage, which were discarded. Observed both soda gun nozzles at bar to be heavily soiled with debris. Soda gun nozzles were cleaned and sanitized during inspection. Observed several items in walk-in cooler to not be date marked. Items included: one container of chicken legs, two containers of lamb and one container of mixed vegetables. All items were discarded during inspection.

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Piper Glen Golf & Social Club

Location: 7112 Piper Glen Drive, Springfield

Date/inspection type: May 2, routine inspection.

What: Result found 10 violations, with 2 risk factors.

Some notes from the inspection: Repeat offenses included no employee health reporting agreements, the baffle of the ice machine to have an accumulation of mold and no probe style thermometer for the facility. Observed the hot dog cooker to not have any overhead cover. Discussed with PIC.

Abelardo's Mexican Fresh

Location:1610 W. Jefferson St., Springfield

Date/Inspection type: May 10, routine inspection

What: Result found 9 violations, with 3 risk factors.

Some notes from the inspection: Frozen shrimp was observed in a pan of water on the counter. The shrimp was still about 41 degrees Fahrenheit on the surface and frozen in parts. After reviewing thawing methods, person in charge moved the shrimp to the walk-in cooler to continue thawing. A tub of cooked pork was observed at 66 degrees Fahrenheit (probed) on the kitchen counter. Employees stated that the pork was removed from the walk-in cooler at 7 a.m. (about 1.5 hours prior to the temperature observations) with the intention of portioning it into bags and freezing it. The facility was out of bags, so the pork was returned to the walk-in cooler. When the temperature was checked again at 10:30 a.m., the pork was 65 degrees (probed) and was voluntarily discarded. A container of pork was observed with its date label reading “pollo rojo.” Several other containers in the walk-in cooler were similarly mislabeled, causing confusion regarding the accuracy of the date labels (though all dates were in the appropriate time frame, the foods did not correspond with the contents of the container). Containers were relabeled to reflect their contents and prep dates during the inspection.

Popeye's #823

Location: 2801 East S. Grand Ave., Springfield

Date/inspection type: May 8, routine inspection.

What: Result found 15 violations, with 9 risk factors.

Some notes from the inspection: The May 8 inspection prompted two follow up visits, May 10 and June 10. During the May 8 inspection, no one was observed washing hands. There are a number of drain flies and fruit flies around the mop sink. Inspector tapped the chemical dispenser and at least a dozen flew from the unit. Several more were observed around the walls. Observed a number of coolers to not be working within the facility: the preparation cooler was holding mayonnaise at 49 degrees (unit at 67) and the upright freezer adjacent to the preparation cooler was holding temperature at 56F. A number of foods were discarded from these two cold-holding units.

In follow-up inspections, the hot holding well was observed to still be broken but significant improvement to the restaurant had been made.

Claire Grant writes about business, growth and development and other news topics for The State Journal-Register. She can be reached at [email protected]; and on X (Formerly known as Twitter): @Claire_Granted

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Fruit flies, mold, found in Springfield-area kitchens in May 2024