Wichita inspections: Two-month-old tacos, moldy limes, no water, food truck issues
Ten businesses including a food truck, a gas station, a bar and several restaurants failed their Kansas Department of Agriculture food and lodging safety inspections from April 17-23, a check of reports for Sedgwick County shows.
Information about the businesses and violations, compiled April 29, 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 searchable database of non-compliant restaurant and hotel inspections at www.kansas.com/databases.
More than 60 businesses surveyed during the same time period 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
Banh Mi To Go LLC, 2528 S. Oliver in Wichita — Nine violations on April 18 including storing raw eggs by ready-to-eat macaroons, sauce wasn’t kept cold enough, meatball sauce and other items weren’t labeled with preparation or package opening dates, raw beef and butter were stored in plastic T-shirt bags instead of in food-grade containers, dirty mixing bowl and bread roll machine, plumbing issue. Results from the follow-up inspection set for April 28 were not available when this list was compiled.
The Bunnery, 1025 W. 29th St. N. in Wichita — One violation on April 20 related to the business’ use of cheddar cheese on a bread after baking. There is question of whether the cheese is shelf stable. Next inspection: June 19.
Dudley’s Sports Bar, 8550 W. 21st St. in Wichita — Seven violations on April 18 including salad dressing and produce not stored at cold-enough temperatures, meats including ham and turkey and milk not labeled with package opening or preparation dates, old ground beef and two-month-old tacos, broken flour container and cutting board, plumbing issue. The results of the business’ scheduled April 28 inspection were not immediately available.
La Hacienda Tacos & Tequila, 5905 W. Kellogg Dr. in Wichita — Twelve violations on April 21 including moldy limes, beef and beans in refrigerator didn’t cool down quickly enough, rice and potatoes stored at unsafe temperatures, chicken tenders stored at unsafe temperatures, whipped topping not labeled with opening date, dirty can opener, no hot water on cook line or in women’s bathroom, hand-washing sinks were being used for storage, no soap at hand-washing sink, unlabeled chemical bottle. Results from the follow-up inspection set for April 30 were not available when this list was compiled.
Mars Mart 2, 600 S. Oliver in Wichita — Five violations on April 21 including raw tilapia stored above lettuce in cooler, no equipment available to test strength of sanitizer, no soap or paper towels at hand-washing sinks. Next inspection: May 1.
Mex Market Warehouse, 925 E. 19th St. N. in Wichita — Six violations on April 20 including parking lot cluttered with garbage and beer cans, only one hand-washing sink in facility, business was using insecticide rated for home-only use to treat for bugs, unlabeled chemical bottle, moldy tortillas and produce. Next inspection: June 19.
Papa John’s Pizza, 2530 S. Seneca in Wichita — Four violations on April 18 including pizza sauce that wasn’t labeled with discard time, no paper towels at hand-washing sink in women’s bathroom, restaurant doesn’t have its current food license posted. The results of the business’ scheduled April 28 inspection were not immediately available.
Shape’n It Up Nutrition, 841 N. Tyler Rd. in Wichita — One violation on April 20 for not having a hand-washing sink behind the smoothie bar. Results from the follow-up inspection set for April 30 were not available when this list was compiled.
Uno Mas Burgers & Tacos, 8641 W. 13th St. N. in Wichita — Five violations on April 22 including issue with sanitizer, food stored at unsafe temperatures, salsa wasn’t labeled with preparation date, no paper towels at kitchen hand-washing sink, the business’ food license wasn’t posted. Next inspection: May 2.
Willie’s Wings food truck, 6315 E. Kellogg in Wichita — Nine violations on April 19 including storing food bags and boxes of waffle fries and chicken wings directly on the ground, not storing frozen foods in a refrigerated environment, no running water, dirty cooler, hole above sink is big enough for pests to crawl through, no paper towels at hand-washing sink, the business did not stop operating and tell the Kansas Department of Agriculture that it didn’t have running water. Results from the follow-up inspection set for April 29 were not available when this list was compiled. The food truck’s owner, Willie Finley, told The Eagle he never shut down his business in response to an inspection and has never failed an inspection.
This story was originally published May 2, 2022 at 4:23 AM.
