Violations and responses
Cilantro's Colombian Grill
8270 S. Houghton Road
Failed Feb. 2 inspection, passed on reinspection Feb. 4.
Critical violations
Eight critical violations cited by a county inspector included improper reheating and cooling of foods; an employee observed donning gloves without first washing her hands; improper food storage; unmarked or insufficiently marked leftover food; failure to mark a bottle of sanitizer; and the presence of an unapproved home pesticide.
Most of the violations were corrected on the spot, and items kept at improper temperatures were discarded. The eatery - which opened in early January - passed a reinspection Feb. 3, Cilantro's co-owner Ruby Tenorio said.
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"There were a lot of little things," she said.
Additionally, Tenorio said she is requiring each of her kitchen employees to become certified in food safety by attending the county's classes - one already has been certified since the recent inspections - and will require new hires to have food-safety certificates.
• Cooked rice in a container was apparently taken from a refrigerator directly to a holding unit (steam table) and was at 125 degrees, below the 130 degrees minimum required. Cooled ready-to-eat food must be reheated to 165 degrees within two hours before being transferred to a holding unit.
Response: Tenorio said employees told her they put the rice container into the steam table while the oven heated up. They were advised to keep items refrigerated until they can be reheated, she said.
• The temperature of a large container of cooked tamales recently removed from a refrigerator was measured at 50 degrees, short of the required 41 degrees. Prepared hot foods must be cooled to 70 degrees in two hours and from 70 to 41 degrees in four hours.
Response: Tenorio said it's difficult to quickly cool solid foods like tamales, but the county inspector showed how to cool them by covering them with plastic wrap and putting ice over the top, a practice she will continue.
• The owner (Tenorio) was observed putting on gloves before first washing her hands as required, then handling cooked tamales.
Response: Tenorio said she put on gloves before handing the inspector a tamale. She said she follows rules for handwashing and glove use, though she's not certain why it's required when raw foods haven't been handled. "We always wash our hands many times a day, and we go through hundreds of gloves a day."
• Raw eggs (in shell) were improperly stored above refried beans and fresh tomatoes in a walk-in cooler and separate refrigerator.
Response: Tenorio said she has made sure raw foods are stored on lower shelves only, in one case removing a lower cooler shelf to make sure only the bottom holds raw items.
• Dried food debris were found in a microwave oven, on a meat slicer and on foam-plastic containers.
Response: Tenorio said the items were immediately cleaned, though some were recently used, and she has redoubled efforts to clean equipment immediately after use.
• A can of tomato sauce at the restaurant had a small dent in the bottom. Dented cans cannot be stored or used and must be segregated for disposal or return to the supplier.
Response: Tenorio said she had planned to discard the dented can of tomato sauce because it was not the right kind.
• A container of cooked chicken wings, a pan of refried beans and other items were marked with preparation dates, but not seven-day expiration dates (the preparation day plus six days), as required.
Response: The restaurant marked the offending items and will mark both prep dates and expiration dates on containers going forward, Tenorio said.
• A spray bottle with sanitizer was not marked as to its contents, and an inspector found a container of pesticide not approved for use in food establishments.
Response: Tenorio said cleaner bottles were color-coded - white for sanitizer, blue for window cleaner - but they now have been clearly labeled as well.
The unapproved pesticide had been used only outside near the refuse bin, and was discarded, she said. The eatery uses a licensed company for pest control inside, as required, she said.
Yoshimatsu Healthy Japanese Eatery
2660 N. Campbell Ave.
Failed Feb. 18 inspection. Passed reinspection March 1.
Critical violations
"We corrected everything," said manager Masanori Sato. "The owners are taking care of everything on advice from health inspectors. We are planning to have a couple people take some (Health Department food safety) classes.
"This was great for us, to make things more clear," Sato said. "We just hired a bunch of new people and they needed to know. It was a great opportunity to learn. It was helpful. We want to maintain good service and keep things clean."
Critical violations
• Cooked chicken in a prep line refrigerated drawer was 58 degrees. Ready-to-eat cold foods must be kept at 45 degrees or less.
Response: Sato said the cold chicken became too warm because it was stored too close to chicken that had just been cooked and was still hot. "We needed to separate" the hot from the cold chicken.
• A dishwasher was handling dirty dishes with bare hands and then handling clean dishes without washing his hands and/or putting on disposable gloves. After contamination, such as handling dirty dishes, people must wash their hands and put on disposable gloves.
Response: Sato said the dishwasher was a new employee and didn't know the proper procedure, but has since been instructed on proper procedures.
• A soda glass with a straw and no lid was sitting on a shelf above an area where vegetables were being prepared. Open beverage containers are not allowed in an area where there is the possibility of contaminating other food.
Response: Sato said the line chefs were aware of the rule prohibiting open beverages in their work area, but one line chef did not. He said she has since been advised of the requirement.
• Two cook line microwaves were crusted with food debris, as was a food broiler on the sushi line. Equipment must be clean to sight and touch.
Response: The microwaves and broilers get heavy daily use, Sato said, and were mostly clean. "We've been cleaning up, but that time the side and bottom was clean, but the top we missed, kind of a blind spot," said Sato.
• There was soup in the walk-in refrigerator and eel on the sushi bar without expiration dates. Ready-to-eat cold foods held more than 24 hours have to be marked with expiration dates of seven days from the preparation day.
Response: Sato said the employees usually do comply with the requirement for expiration dates. They cut fresh eel every day. "They didn't put a (date) sticker on it. They usually do," he said.
The Taco Shop Co.
1655 S. Alvernon Way
Failed Feb. 8 inspection. Passed reinspection Feb. 18.
A message left Wednesday for a manager or owner of the restaurant was not returned. Several attempts to reach a manager were unsuccessful.
• A half-eaten burrito was lying on a food preparation table. Eating is prohibited in the kitchen. The burrito was thrown in the garbage.
• Two large pans of pinto beans cooling in a reach-in refrigerator measured 110 degrees after three hours. The temperature should have been below 70 degrees after two hours. The beans were reheated to 165 degrees.
• The cook was seen cracking raw egg shells, then removing her gloves and putting on new ones without washing her hands.
• Raw chicken in a loosely wrapped piece of plastic was stored above a container of uncovered pinto beans. Raw meat should not stored above ready-to-eat foods.
• Several pastries, such as flan and cakes, were offered for sale from a vendor who has admitted making food at his home. Food prepared in a private home shouldn't be offered for sale to the public. The pastry items were removed from the display case and will no longer be offered for sale.
• Potatoes, cooked shredded beef, Spanish rice, chicken, rice and taquitos were stored longer than 24 hours without a use-by date. All potentially hazardous foods stored longer than 24 hours should have a use-by date.
• The person in charge couldn't answer questions about cooking temperatures of chicken and ground beef or about proper cooling and date marking. Due to the number of critical violations, the sanitarian recommended all workers take a food safety course.
Thuan Kieu
1990 W Orange Grove Road
Failed Feb. 8. Passed reinspection Feb. 22.
Owner Tom Mai said he did not want to dispute the Health Department's claims and that all the problems cited had been corrected.
Critical violations
• Pot of soup at 80 degrees and bowl of beans at 90 degrees in walk-in refrigerator. Large uncovered bowl of soup, made the day before, at 52 degrees. Food must cool from 130 degrees to 70 degrees within two hours and from 70 down to 41 degrees or less within four hours.
• Employee observed picking something up off the floor while handling shelled peanuts.
• Observed pot of uncovered soup stored below raw pork and beef. Ready-to-eat food must be stored above raw meat.
• A food slicer was stored as clean but had food debris on the blade and arm. Food contact surfaces must be stored clean to sight and touch.
• Observed containers of cooked soup, pork, rice, rice noodles, chicken and beans that were made the day before but didn't have discard dates. All potentially hazardous read-to-eat food held longer than 24 hours must have a discard date.
• Observed hole in the ceiling of walk-in refrigerator and freezer and ice buildup around the door of freezer; door seal on walk-in refrigerator in disrepair; gap at bottom of emergency exit door that could allow pests to enter; hand sink improperly located for proper use; hole in kitchen wall; unapproved microwave in kitchen.
Executive Inn & Suites of Tucson
333 W. Drachman St.
Failed Feb. 3. Passed reinspection Feb. 16.
Critical violations
"I really don't understand what they're looking for," said owner and manager Rampal Yadav. "We passed on the second inspection. There were some issues. There was no light. Dishwashing machines need work. They said you've got to change these sinks to three (compartments). Our washing machine is working, our lights are working."
Yadav said he has had a difficult time reaching anyone at the county Health Department to talk about the required upgrades.
Meanwhile, Yadev said he has no intention of operating the establishment as a restaurant. The restaurant portion is closed now, but "they can say it's a restaurant if we serve a continental breakfast," he said.
"They have written in reports that we should put sinks in that have three-hole sinks. They said we should re-line (the) walk-in coolers. We will do it if we run the restaurant."
Critical violations
• Package of cream cheese on food prep counter at 72 degrees and was on counter for more than one hour. Cream cheese must be held at 41 degrees or less.
Response: "When you buy the cream cheese, is it kept at 41 degrees?"
• Employee handling baked goods changed gloves several times without washing hands between changes. Food workers must wash hands thoroughly between glove changes.
Response: "I have not seen anybody when they change the gloves. To me it doesn't make any logic what they are trying to say. We have taken the class."
• Only one hand sink inside entire kitchen and bar area. Handwashing sinks must be conveniently located.
Response: "There are three hand sinks. They are wrong that there is one hand sink. There are two in kitchen and one in the bar," Yadav said.
• Raw whole eggs stored above tortillas inside reach-in refrigerator.
Response: "If it was so, we corrected it," Yadav said.
• Raw packaged hamburger, chicken, hot dogs and vegetables stored inside same bowl and all in contact with raw chicken juice. Food must be segregated to prevent cross contamination.
Response: "We don't cook (chicken). We only serve continental breakfast," Yadav said. In response to a menu listing eggs, and grilled chicken and turkey sandwiches and hamburgers, Yadav said, "There are 100 menus, the Executive Inn is (very) old." He said it no longer serves anything other than continental breakfasts with cereal, toast, bagels, muffins and eggs cooked in an appliance attached to a toaster.
• Food slicer encrusted with food debris. Food contact surfaces must be cleaned every four hours to prevent cross contamination.
Response: "I have no knowledge of a food slicer," Yadav said. "We don't use a slicer. In a continental breakfast where are we going to use a slicer?"
• Employee washed dishes with only soap and water in two-compartment sink. Dishware must be washed, rinsed, sanitized and air dried.
Response: "No. 1, continental breakfast. We have all disposable plates, knife, fork and napkins. If we have in kitchen it is stacked on shelves. Our cereal is in a dispenser. Our bagels, bread, muffins, they are wrapped. We've got the plastic spoon, knife and fork and the foam bowls and plates. So what are we going to wash?"
• Establishment serves eggs, but no egg consumer advisory posted.
Response: "We serve eggs. I think we already put up the sign. It was missing, we agree."
• Can of oven cleaner and can of Goo Off stored next to ingredients near deep fryer. Chemicals must be properly segregated to prevent contamination.
Response: "We never use those fryers or grills," Yadav said. "Sometimes we serve boiled egg."
Jethro's Little Cafe
917 W. Prince Road
Failed Feb. 11, passed reinspection Feb. 22
Critical violations
"I'm the new owner and I'm putting systems in place," said Rob Reid, of Jethro's Little Cafe on Prince Road. "I'm well aware of what the codes are. I'm not throwing the Health Department under the bus. I've had a good relationship."
• Inspectors found containers of cooked sausage at 61 degrees and cooked potatoes at 52 degrees. Cooked potentially hazardous foods must be maintained 41 degrees or less for cold holding or 130 degrees or above for hot holding. Items "in use" must be logged with times in and out of cold holding. This was corrected by putting items in refrigeration.
Response: "When they arrive, the Health Department is taking a snapshot of what's happening," said Reid. "But when it's really busy, cooks pull things out, things ready to get cooked or pre-cooked. They're probably not hazardous and are going to be reheated promptly. It was extremely busy when they came in."
• An employee was observed washing hands inside a sanitizer bucket, then handling food. An employee also was observed washing hands only with running water; washing with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds is required. Corrected when employee washed hands correctly.
Response: Reid concurred with the observation.
• An employee was observed handling toast and cheese without limiting bare-hand contact. The worker put on gloves to correct the violation.
Response: Reid concurred with the observation.
• Two containers of raw chicken were improperly stored above cooked potatoes in a reach-in cooler; plastic-wrapped raw ground beef was improperly stored above on top of a container of cottage cheese in a reach-in refrigerator. The raw items were moved to correct storage positions, below or away from ready-to-eat foods.
Response: Reid concurred with the observation.
• Dried foods debris was found on a meat slicer, which must be broken down and cleaned every four hours. The slicer was cleaned and sanitized to correct the violation.
Response: "If (employees) used it first thing in the morning, they haven't gotten to it (the four-hour time limit for cleaning) yet. They clean it every time they use it. If somebody showed up at 5:30 in the morning and sliced ham, by 8:30 am. They (the inspectors) don't know, so they may assume it wasn't cleaned at all."
• An employee was observed cracking raw eggs onto a grill and then handling clean plates without first washing hands, as required. An employee blew into a disposable glove. The employee was instructed on hand-washing requirements and advised to avoid blowing into gloves.
Response: "When you make eggs over easy and prepared, you can't have them cracked ahead of time," Reid said. "You have to wear gloves and change them more often."
Char's Thai Restaurant
5039 E. Fifth St.
Failed Feb. 9 and Feb. 19 inspections. Passed inspection March 1.
Critical violations
• The owner was observed throwing away boxes, opening and closing the back door then putting on gloves without washing his hands. A cook was seen handling raw chicken, beef and shrimp with gloved hands and then handling other utensils without washing her hands. The cook was told about the violation but didn't understand why she had to wash her hands. "The employee finally washed her hands after several attempts to instruct her to do so," the report says.
Response: Owner Sawas Chumpon said his employees work quickly during rushes of customers and don't always have time to wash hands after touching separate kinds of meat. But cooks will begin using different utensils to keep from touching the meat with their hands.
• An employee was seen washing his gloved hands without soap. The owner was observed on two separate occasions running water over his hands and not applying soap. The owner said his hands were too dry to keep putting on soap.
Response: Chumpon said his employees would use soap when washing their hands from now on.
• A cook was seen handling raw chicken, then raw beef on several occasions. The cook was advised to use utensils to obtain raw meats and different ones for each product. An employee was seen dipping an egg roll into raw egg batter with gloved hands, then grabbing some green leaf lettuce to garnish a plate. The lettuce was thrown out.
Response: A different spoon is now used for each type of food, so it's not handled with bare hands.
• A container of fried rice stored at room temperature measured 115 degrees, a container of fried tofu measured 89 degrees and a bowl of cooked scrambled eggs measured 67 degrees. They were all being stored at room temperature. Potentially hazardous food held hot should maintain a temperature of 130 degrees. The violation was not corrected.
Response: The food was being used during a rush, but Chumpon said his staffers can tell when food is bad and not safe to serve customers.
• The fried rice mentioned in the previous violation was served to a customer before being heated to 165 degrees as required.
Response: Employees were trying to get the food out as quickly as possible, Chumpon said.
• Several containers had raw chicken and beef stored together. Unsealed imitation crab was stored in the same container as raw shrimp, orange roughy and fresh trout. Eggs were stored above fresh carrots. Such food items must be stored separately to avoid cross contamination.
Response: Usually the different food items are kept in sealed plastic bags, Chumpon said. But employees are now keeping the meats in different containers.
• Several foods were stored longer than 24 hours without use-by dates posted on them.
Response: The restaurant serves food soon after it's prepared, Chumpon said. But employees will begin using date marks.
• The owner was unable to demonstrate adequate food safety knowledge, and based on the number of critical violations, he was not properly instructing his staff in proper food safety.
Response: Chumpon said he would attend a food-safety class.
• The chlorine levels in a dishwasher registered above 200 parts per million chlorine. The manager drained the machine and refilled to reach proper chlorine level of 100 parts per million.
Response: Chumpon said the dishwasher has the correct amount of chlorine after a couple runs.
February results of Pima County Health Department inspections:
Compiled by Dan Sorenson, Dale Quinn and David Wichner from Health Department records.