Wichita inspections: Old queso, beef in stagnant water, mice, missing allergen info
A seafood and steakhouse, an Indian restaurant, a bakery, two Mexican eateries, a food truck, a chain pizza joint and a grocery store failed their Kansas Department of Agriculture food safety inspections last week. Their violations include food that was too old to sell, employees not washing their hands, thawing beef and chicken in stagnant water, evidence of mice, a blocked sink and not listing peanuts — a common allergen — as an ingredient in baked goods, a check of Sedgwick County’s non-compliant inspections from Sept. 12-18 shows.
Information about the eight non-compliant businesses, compiled Sept. 23, appears below and online in our database with a summary of the problems inspectors noted on their reports. More details, including specific violation descriptions and survey dates, are posted in The Eagle’s searchable, non-compliant restaurant and hotel inspection database at www.kansas.com/databases.
More than 40 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.
Failing an inspection doesn’t necessarily mean a business has to close; that’s rare. Most violations are minor and are immediately corrected on site.
Businesses fall out of compliance with state rules when they have too many violations or certain types of problems that can increase the risk of a customer contracting a food-borne illness, or when a problem can’t be fixed right away, such as plumbing issues and pest infestations.
When a business fails, it’s usually inspected again within 10 days.
To complain about conditions anywhere that serves or sells food to the public, email kda.fsl@ks.gov or call 785-564-6767.
Recent out-of-compliance inspections
AVI Seabar & Chophouse, 135 N. Waco in Wichita — Three violations for partially cooking and setting aside lamb chops and chicken without written approval from the state, old sweetened condensed milk, dirty pans. Follow-up inspection date not listed on report.
Deshi Curry, 6249 E. 21st St. in Wichita — Thirteen violations for employee who handled money not washing hands before touching customer food, raw chicken stored above raw lamb in refrigerator, food including chicken and gravy at unsafe temperatures, food including cooked meats and rice not marked with preparation dates, business is making yogurt without a variance, tomato sauce not stored in food-safe container, no equipment to test strength of sanitizer, dirty kitchen equipment, not sanitizing dishes, broken hand-washing sink, grimy kitchen floor. Follow-up inspection scheduled for Sept. 30.
El Maguey, 1221 N. Rock Road in Derby — Six violations for thawing beef and chicken in stagnant water, not labeling poblanos rellenos with preparation dates, old queso and milk, no equipment for testing concentration of sanitizer in dishwasher, water not hot enough at bar sink, unlabeled chemical bottles. Follow-up inspection scheduled for Nov. 16.
El Rancho, 2801 N. Broadway in Wichita — Thirteen violations for employees not washing hands before touching clean dishes and sandwich rolls, employee touching ready-to-eat produce with bare hands, thawing beef stomach for too long on a counter top, food at unsafe temperatures including beef stomach and chopped beef, pork wasn’t marked with preparation date, cracked and chipped containers, no soap at sink, rodent feces under and behind a refrigerator, buckets of sanitizer not labeled, food processor and juicer stored with chemicals, rodent control pellets sitting on plate under refrigerator. Follow-up inspection scheduled for Sept. 24.
Juarez Bakery, 1068 N. Waco in Wichita — Inspected as both a food processor and a food establishment. A total of five violations for not having sneeze guards or other coverings on bakery items, metal tray and plastic lids need to be replaced, no equipment for testing strength of sanitizer. Follow-up inspection scheduled for Oct. 1.
Little Caesars Pizza, 1444 N. Maize Road Ste. 100 in Wichita — Three violations over a missing policy related to pre-made pizzas, blocked hand-washing sink, leaky air vents with water drippings in buckets on floor. Follow-up inspection scheduled for Nov. 13.
Marineros Seafood (mobile unit/food truck), 2217 N. Mascot in Wichita — Three violations for storing food at unsafe temperatures including yogurt and barbacoa, temperature inside reach-in cooler was too warm, no food thermometer. Follow-up inspection scheduled for Nov. 12.
Tianguis Carniceria, 3020 W. 13th St. N. in Wichita — Nine violations for scoop handles touching bulk bin beans and dried peppers, cooked beans at unsafe temperatures, salsa and beans not marked with preparation dates, not listing peanuts as an ingredient on doughnuts, cracked food trays, no probe-style thermometers in establishment, meat case racks weren’t dried before they were stored, sanitizer and cleaner weren’t labeled, expired medication for sale. Follow-up inspection scheduled for Sept. 25.
This story was originally published September 24, 2021 at 4:36 AM.
