Windsor

  • One star sucks in restaurant inspection; I want 5 on my forehead

    Posted: September 10th, 2010 - 12:24pm by Doug Powell

    Sewage backups in food storage areas. Restaurants with sleeping quarters. Unclean staff members. Unsanitary premises.

    Windsor-area food establishments have now been busted — publicly — by the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit for food safety infractions.

    Food safety ratings of hundreds of establishments are officially available online for the first time today. The ratings use a star system to denote the level of food safety witnessed by health unit inspectors at the time of inspection. A rating of five stars reflects excellent compliance with the province’s food regulations, while fewer stars reflects a lower degree of compliance.

    Of the 1,806 establishments rated on the Safe Food Counts website Thursday, seven establishments got a one-star rating, which is classified as “needs improvement” by the health unit.

    The Sun Hong Restaurant on 2045 Wyandotte Street West in Windsor, Ontario (that’s in Canada) on September 9. and a handful of others around the city, received a one-star health inspection rating by the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (left, photo by Ben Nelms, The Windsor Star).

    Eight establishments received a two-star rating, described as “fair,” 39 got three stars, or a “good” rating, and the remainder received four or five stars, classified as “very good” and “excellent.”

    The Royal Pita Bakery at 701 Wyandotte St. E., was closed by the health unit in June after inspectors deemed it an “immediate health hazard.”

    In 2008, the Ontario Public Health Standards mandated all health units to publicly disclose food safety inspection results. The local health unit began its Safe Food Counts program in 2009. The health unit website states that though the scores are reflective of food safety conditions at the time of the inspection, "the score may not reflect the overall, long-term standards of the business. It also does not represent the quality (e.g., taste, nutrition, customer service, etc.) of the food served at the premises."

    The food safety ratings can be viewed online at www.safefoodcounts.ca.

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    Disclosure, Ontario, restaurant inspection, Star, Windsor
  • Stars for food safety ratings in Windsor, Ontario

    Posted: August 14th, 2010 - 4:40pm by Doug Powell

    Are stars better than grades or numbers or colors or smiley faces when posting the results of restaurant inspections?

    That research has yet to be done, but Windsor (that’s in Ontario, Canada)

    Dr. Allen Heimann, the medical officer of health, writes in the ironically named newspaper, the Windsor Star, that a five-star rating system was adopted last year and is intended to be representative of how closely food premises owners/operators follow food safety standards.

    The results of this new program have been overwhelmingly positive. More than 95 per cent of food premises have either four or five stars.

    If you don't see a star sign posted, ask to see it. If it's unavailable, you can choose to either purchase your food without knowing the rating, or search for the rating online first.

    In fall 2010, the second phase of the SFC program will be in effect with the new website, which will allow you to search from home for any food premises and have instant access to its star rating and an inspection report.

    Each report will list the concerns a health inspector had during their inspection, as well as an explanation of each.

    Visit the SFC website at http://www.safefoodcounts.ca.

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    Disclosure, Ontario, restaurant inspection, stars, Windsor
  • Restaurant inspection disclosure widely popular in Windsor, Ontario

    Posted: December 29th, 2009 - 3:41am by Doug Powell

    Like pretty much every other county or town that has implemented some form of restaurant inspection disclosure, the system is way popular in Windsor, Ontario.

    About 1,300 locations have been inspected under the star ratings, including all of the premises in the highest-risk categories, said Deb Bennett, Windsor-Essex County Health Unit’s health protection director.

    “We’ve gone six months now with the star ratings. What we’ve seen is much positive comment from owners and consumers,” Bennett said.

    The 500 premises still to be inspected with star ratings are all considered low-risk and include establishments such as convenience stores.

    “We have seen a dramatic improvement in the level of compliance,” she said.

    As well, she said she’s hearing more from restaurants about receiving four stars when they expected five than from locations with fewer stars. The places seem to accept their lower ratings, she said.

    Enzo Mancuso, who owns Mancuso’s Trattoria, 555 Erie St. E.  said,

    “It’s like anything else, sooner or later you get used to it.”

    His restaurant recently received its second five-star rating since they were introduced. Customers applauded when they saw him receive an inspection notice with the stars, which he can post in his window.

    But this last bit sucks.

    Customers may not know about a restaurant’s inspection and rating, and Bennett said the health unit will focus on efforts to make the public aware they can find out by contacting the health unit.

    Market food safety achievements. People may be more concerned about whether their food will make them barf or not.
     

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    Disclosure, Ontario, Windsor
  • Did Maple Leaf's listeria hot dogs sicken a dog?

    Posted: August 6th, 2009 - 5:40pm by Doug Powell

    It’s one thing to sicken and kill humans with food like Maple Leaf cold cuts – just don’t mess with people’s pets.

    Carrie Pich of Windsor, Ontario, (right, photo from Windsor Star) is convinced her beloved Tigger -- a two-year-old yellow Labrador retriever --  fell ill over the weekend because he ate Maple Leaf hotdogs that might be tainted with bacteria.

    "This could have been a human. I mean, (Tigger) is human to us. But it could've happened to you. My husband could've ate two. He loves hotdogs."

    Pich said she bought three packages of hotdogs last week: two packs of Maple Leaf Original Wieners and one pack of Shopsy's Deli-Fresh.

    Both products are among those listed in the recall.

    But Pich didn't know that on the evening of July 31, when she cut up three Maple Leaf Original Wieners to put in Tigger's supper, and gave him one more as a late-night treat.

    On Saturday morning, Pich woke to find Tigger vomiting blood.

    Dr. Ameer Ebrahim, the owner and veterinarian at Cabana @ Howard Pet Hospital said he can't confirm that Tigger suffered from listeriosis, but the dog's symptoms were "very consistent" with bacterial infection, and he wouldn't rule out a connection with the recalled wieners eaten by Tigger.

    "That's a very strong coincidence.”
     

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    Doggy, Hot Dog, Maple Leaf, Ontario, Vomit, Windsor