Food safety: Spoiled sausage, dead bugs in liquor, screw in sauce at local businesses
Editor’s note: The Eagle is updating its out-of-compliance inspection database weekly this year. However, because the COVID-19 pandemic has slowed inspections, there may be no related story some weeks. You can search the database at www.kansas.com/databases.
A cocktail lounge, night club, hardware store, business center, hotel and four restaurants are the latest Sedgwick County businesses to fail their Kansas Department of Agriculture food and lodging safety inspections. Violations that led to them falling out of compliance with state expectations include water problems, spoiled and misdated meats, dead bugs in a Bacardi bottle and a small screw found in a container of sauce, according to a check of inspection reports.
Some of the Wichita-area businesses inspected Feb. 21-28 were surveyed remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Eagle has a list of the nine non-compliant businesses below along with a summary of the problems inspectors noted on their reports. You can read specifics about the violations by searching The Eagle’s non-compliant database at www.kansas.com/databases. This list, which also includes a non-compliant inspection for a Chinese restaurant that wasn’t included in a prior Eagle story, was compiled March 3.
Inspection failures don’t necessarily mean business closures. Most violations are corrected on site as an inspection happens, and follow-up visits usually occur within 10 days to ensure safe food-handling practices are observed. Businesses fall out of compliance when they have a certain number or type of problem that can lead to foodborne illnesses, or problems that can’t be corrected right away, such as plumbing issues and pest infestations.
More than 60 businesses surveyed last week passed their inspections with few or no violations. You can see those at www.foodsafety.kda.ks.gov/FoodSafety/Web/Inspection/PublicInspectionSearch.aspx.
To complain about conditions at a business, email kda.fsl@ks.gov or call 785-564-6767.
Recent out of compliance inspections:
6 Degrees Wichita Old Town, 222 N. Washington in Wichita — Four violations for not having supplies on site to test the strength of sanitizer, no hot water anywhere in the building, no soap in the men’s restroom, no hand drying supplies at the bar and kitchen sinks
Fuzzy’s Taco Shop, 306 N. Rock Road in Wichita — Seven violations for an employee not washing hands after handling raw meat, improper food storage, cheese and other ingredients at unsafe temperatures, dirty equipment, water in men’s restroom didn’t get hot enough, no hand drying supplies at two kitchen sinks, can of stainless steel cleaner stored by eating utensils
Lowe’s Home Improvement, 333 S. Ridge Road in Wichita — One violation for the water not getting hot enough at bathroom sinks
The Marigold Grand Hotel and Suites, 2045 N. Ridge Road in Wichita — Six violations for milk not marked with its opening date, fruit at self-service breakfast station wasn’t individually wrapped, waffle mix wasn’t cold enough, no food thermometer on site to check food temperatures, no usable sanitizer testing supplies on site, no hand drying supplies at a kitchen sink
Master Wok, 7700 E. Kellogg Dr. in Wichita — One violation for not having hot-enough water at a kitchen sink
Mr. Goodcents, 3411 N. Rock Road in Wichita — Four violations for keeping food at unsafe temperatures, old meatballs and pot roast, old potatoes and cheese pasta, malfunctioning thermometer in cooler, no probe thermometer to check food temperatures
New Lemongrass: Taste of Vietnam, 300 N. Mead in Wichita — Fourteen violations for having dead insects in a bottle of Bacardi, an inspector found a small screw in a container of food sauce, improper food storage, rice and meats kept at unsafe temperatures, vegetables and dumplings at unsafe temperatures, milk and eggs were too warm, foods not marked with opening or preparation dates, cabbage stored in t-shirt style to-go bags instead of food-grade containers, no food thermometer on site or sanitizer testing supplies, dirty equipment, cleaner and degreasers stored next to clean dishes
Red’s Cafe, 1417 E. Grand Ave in Haysville — Four violations for improper food storage, food at unsafe temperatures, old potato soup in refrigerator
TA/Omni Business Center, 111 S. Whittier in Wichita — One violation over its cooler not keeping food cold enough
Vorshay’s Cocktail Lounge, 417 E. Douglas Ave. in Wichita — Seven violations for having spoiled sausage in a cooler, improper food storage, not marking food items with preparation or opening dates, no consumer advisory on menu warning of the risks of eating undercooked beef, no food thermometer on site or hand drying supplies at bar sink
This story was originally published March 4, 2021 at 10:05 AM.
