Wichita inspections: No license, bed bugs, flies in liquor, old pork, grimy ice maker
A local Vietnamese restaurant, a barbecue joint, a smoothie bar and a hotel failed their Kansas Department of Agriculture food safety and lodging inspections last week. Their violations include operating without a license, insects floating in liquor bottles, bed bugs, thawing raw meat in standing water, old pulled pork and a grimy ice machine, a check of Sedgwick County’s non-compliant inspections from Sept. 19-25 shows.
Information about the four non-compliant businesses, compiled Sept. 26, appears below 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 online searchable, non-compliant restaurant and hotel inspection database at www.kansas.com/databases.
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.
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
C-Town Nutrition & Energy, 130 N. Gorin in Clearwater — Seven violations for not having equipment on site to test sanitizer strength, not sanitizing dishes, sink blocked by wooden board, no soap at hand-washing sink, no paper towels or hand drying supplies at sinks, chemicals stored over pudding and syrups, operating without a license. Follow-up inspection scheduled for Oct. 2.
Crutch BBQ, 550 N. Rock Rd., Ste. 30 in Wichita — Seventeen violations for not marking mushroom gravy and whipped topping with preparation or opening date, thawing chicken in standing water, food including brisket and eggs stored at unsafe temperatures, butter packets and honey butter left out at room temperature, cheese sauce not marked with preparation date, old pulled pork and dressing, chipped and cracked bowls, no equipment to test sanitizer strength, dirty can opener, bugs landing on food utensils, “black build-up” on ice machine, no hot water at one sink, “approximately 40 winged insects” in kitchen and back seating area, unlabeled chemical bucket, sanitizer stored next to food cutting board, bucket of sanitizer stored above bag of flour in storage room. Follow-up inspection scheduled for Sept. 30.
New Lemongrass: Taste of Vietnam, 300 N. Mead in Wichita — Eight violations for having dead insects in liquor bottles, raw squid stored above spring mix and lettuce in cooler, raw beef stored above pan of cooked pork, fish and beef thawing at room temperature, food at unsafe temperatures, cook pork and tofu not marked with preparation dates, watermelon stored in T-shirt sack, no equipment for testing strength of sanitizer. Follow-up inspection scheduled for Oct. 4.
Wichita West Inn & Suites, 2405 N. Ridge Rd. in Wichita — Two violations related to bed bugs. One room was closed. Follow-up inspection scheduled for Oct. 3.
This story was originally published October 1, 2021 at 4:21 AM.
