Cockroaches

  • Toronto restaurant fined maximum $20K for heavy cockroach problem

    Posted: November 17th, 2009 - 9:31am by Doug Powell

    Oh Scarberia, suburb of Toronto, home to Mike Myers and some of the Barenaked Ladies. Why do your restaurants suck?

    A takeout restaurant in Scarborough was fined $20,000 - the maximum penalty - after pleading guilty to four food-safety violations, including a "heavy" cockroach infestation.

    The guilty plea last Friday by Chandra's Takeout Restaurant and Catering, at 201 Markham Rd., related to problems that closed it Aug. 24 to Aug. 28. It has since reopened and passed full inspections on Aug. 28 and Nov. 6.

    The restaurant was fined $5,000 for each of four infractions: not controlling a pest/insect infestation; failing to protect food from contamination; not having a certified food handler; and for obstructing Toronto Public Health's red closure sign while the restaurant was shut down in August.
     

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    Handwashing, Restaurant Inspection  |  1 Comment
    Catering', Chandra, Cockroaches, Mike Myers, Scarborough, Takeout, Wayne Gretzky
  • Rats, mice and cockroaches, oh my - UK KFC needs to clean up

    Posted: October 30th, 2009 - 7:35am by Doug Powell

    KFC may be dabbling with marketing food safety (see the lid from a bucket of chicken), but marketing has to be backed up with data. And having a lousy restaurant inspection report will turn anyone’s stomach, no matter how many checkmarks are on things.

    Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) is being prosecuted after environmental health inspectors reported finding cockroaches, mice and flies at one of its busiest UK restaurants.

    Officials from Westminster Council said that a cockroach scurried across a counter when they visited the fast food outlet in Leicester Square, central London.

    They claimed a mouse was seen running across the floor and flies buzzed around their heads at the Coventry Street premises, Press Association reports.

    In total, KFC faced 13 charges brought under food hygiene regulations following an inspection on August 15 last year. It has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

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    Food Safety Policy, Raw Food, Restaurant Inspection  |  0 Comments
    Cockroaches, Kfc, Mice, Rat, Uk
  • Paraguay, cockroaches, and food safety

    Posted: December 18th, 2008 - 9:17pm by Mayra Rivarola

    I arrived to Paraguay yesterday, escaping the freezing rain from Kansas right on time. It was close to 90 °F (around 30° C). A lot of my friends back in Kansas were jealous, but with 50% humidity, the heat is almost unbearable.

    This weather is also perfect for disease-transmitting mosquitoes and cockroaches. I have almost substituted body lotion with bug spray. And just yesterday, a dandy cockroach was climbing the curtains beside my bed (picture to the right).

    I cannot even imagine how many of these are roaming the restaurants that I normally go to. Actually, I’m not even sure if there is a governmental agency dedicated to food safety or anything of the sort. If there is, I probably wouldn’t trust it.

    Paraguay is one of the poorest nations in South America, with poverty levels of up to 50 percent and rising. Our government is a fiasco; corruption is institutionalized. We have lots to worry about.

    The culture of food safety that Doug is all over about is not often one of these worries. I didn’t know what that meant until I became a news puller. It will be interesting to ask around and see what people think.

    I will introduce my dad to the meat thermometer the next time he cooks an asado – typical barbecue of the region pic bellow – and I will report my findings. So keep tuned.

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    Food Safety Policy, Raw Food  |  1 Comment
    Cockroaches, Culture Of Safe Food, Mosquito, Paraguay
  • Roaches, slime may force Szechuan Panda in Gainesville to close

    Posted: December 4th, 2008 - 11:05am by Doug Powell

    Yes, Mr. Kang, Chinese food can be cooked to food safety regulations.

    The Gainesville Sun reports that a Florida judge has recommended shutting down the Szechuan Panda Chinese Restaurant for repeated health violations that were not corrected over several inspections between December 2007 and March of this year.

    Administrative Law Judge Ella Jane Davis issued the recommended order Nov. 19 after an Aug. 5 hearing for owner Yu Zeng Kang to dispute a complaint filed by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation Division of Hotels and Restaurants.

    Daniel Fulton, senior sanitation and safety specialist with the division, inspected the restaurant five times between Dec. 19, 2007, and March 30, 2008. He reported repeat violations that included live roaches in food preparation and food service areas, dead roaches throughout the building, food stored at improper temperatures, an "unidentified slime" growing in a food container, food stored directly on the floor and improper utensils used to handle food.

    According to the judge's order, Kang responded through an interpreter that most of the violations were because "Chinese cooking was not conducive to meeting the regulations."

    Kang also testified that dead roaches were swept out every night, however the judge noted that those found the following morning remained until the nightly cleaning, the order said.

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    Cockroaches, Florida State University, Gainesville, Szechuan Panda Chinese Restaurant
  • Sydney Pizza Hut fails third cockroach inspection by the Australian name-and-shame squad

    Posted: October 28th, 2008 - 1:59am by Michelle Mazur

    Think a few small bugs won’t hurt you?  Think again. Cockroaches are one of the most commonly noted pest insects.  They can cause chaos in the food safety standards of a restaurant because they transport harmful microbes on their body surfaces and through their droppings.  Cockroaches are also found to be a common allergen for humans.

    Last week, after two previous warnings about cockroaches in the kitchen, food safety inspectors returned to a Sydney, Australia Pizza Hut only to discover a cockroach in the food preparation area of the kitchen.

    The store was issued with a $650 fine for not taking steps to eradicate the pests, and a second fine for not having warm running water in the kitchen for staff to wash their hands...The Pizza Hut was one of 22 premises the Food Authority fined in its blitz in recent days, in which it issued a total of 27 fines.
    They will join more than 175 outlets on the authority's website, launched last year to "name and shame" businesses that do not comply with NSW hygiene laws.

    The best way to deal with cockroaches is to prevent them before they become present.   Keep kitchen surfaces clean and store food off the ground.  However, if a restaurant already suffers from cockroaches, the problem should be eliminated and the reason behind the infestation should also be addressed.  There are various chemicals and traps available for cockroaches, some more traditional than others.

    For more information about cockroach infestations, visit: http://www.cdc.gov/nasd/docs/d001201-d001300/d001251/d001251.html
    You can also view an FSN infosheet about cockroaches at http://bp3.blogger.com/_Pzk3AzZPULs/R1cP6_KHaiI/AAAAAAAAAFA/MwcjU8l0_y0/s1600-h/iFSN-infosheet-12-5-07.jpg

     

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    Food Safety Culture, Restaurant Inspection, Wacky and Weird  |  2 Comments
    Australia, Cockroaches, Hut, Pizza
  • Like cockroaches? Hit up some Irish businesses

    Posted: December 5th, 2007 - 1:11pm by Ben Chapman

    This week's infosheet is all about pest control in food businesses.  The inspiration for the sheet was a report out of Ireland that some upscale restaurants in a popular Dublin mall were closed due to infestation. 

    FSAI chief executive said Dr John O'Brien was quoted as saying "Catering for increased turnover during the Christmas festivities can result in commercial caterers, restaurants and retailers working flat out to meet demands."

    Dr. O'Brien goes on to say that pest control and proper storage are especially important around the holidays as special functions may mean large quantities of food are often prepared several hours in advance, increasing pressure on refrigeration storage, meaning procedures should be monitored carefully.


    Here's the infosheet -- enjoy the giant Madagascar hissing cockroaches
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    Cockroaches, Infosheet
  • Fancy food doesn't mean safe food

    Posted: November 16th, 2007 - 11:40am by Doug Powell

    Serendipity 3, a famous New York City restaurant which last week unveiled what it called the most expensive dessert in the world, has been shut down by the city Department of Health after a second failed health inspection Wednesday night.

    Inspectors found the restaurant

     "crawling with cockroaches, mice and flies. Inspectors spotted a live mouse and mouse droppings in many areas of the restaurant."


    One customer was quoted as saying,

    "I am in shock. You know a friend of mine from Washington, D.C. asked me to come by to Serendipity especially to pick some coffee up. So I get here, it's chain and everything and they found a hundred roaches in there."
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    Restaurant Inspection, Wacky and Weird  |  0 Comments
    Cockroaches