Restaurant Inspections: Caribou Coffee, Blue Ridge Seafood Inspected Sept. 11

Two local dining institutions were inspected by the Prince William Health District of the Virginia Department of Health recently: Caribou Coffee of 12713 Braemar Village Plaza in Bristow and Blue Ridge Seafood of 15704 Lee Highway in Gainesville.

Caribou Coffee, considered a preeminent social hub of Bristow, was inspected and no critical violations were reported during a Sept. 11 routine inspection. The coffee shop received eight noncritical violations . Click here to search for detailed information about this restaurant.

Blue Ridge Seafood, a popular restaurant in Gainesville  received three critical violations and 10 noncritical violations during a Sept. 11 routine inspection.

According to the Health District report, critical violations  include:

Critical: Inadequate record keeping system for shellfish tags.

Critical Repeat (Corrected During Inspection): Pump-spray containers of cleaning product was not properly labeled.

Critical Repeat: The rinse arm nozzle is below the flood rim of the drainboard.

Other non-critical violations included:

• Repeat: No disposable towels were provided at the hand washing sinks in the kitchen. beverage station, or bar.
• Repeat: Soap was not provided at the hand washing sinks in the kitchen and bar.
• No hot water at the restroom hand sinks.
• Repeat: A sign or poster that notifies food employees to wash their hands is not provided at all hand sinks used by food employees
• There was no temperature measuring device located in the 2-door upright display cooler, or in the 3-door prep cooler.
• Badly rusted shelves in 2-door upright display cooler.
• The 2-door upright display cooler is not elevated off the floor or sealed to the floor. A cleaning hazard exists.
• Kitchen handwashing sink broken; neck missing.
• Repeat: Less than 50 foot candles of light was noted in the kitchen prep cooler area. Measured 15 foot-candles.
• The light bulb and lamps in the kitchen are not shielded, coated, or otherwise shatter-resistant.

“Restaurant inspections are normally scheduled for one to four inspections per year, depending on the complexity of the menu, how much food is made from raw products, and how much is made in advance rather than cooked-to-order,” the agency states on their website.

When inspectors observe violations during a routine inspection, they are detailed in a report and classified as either critical (posing a direct or immediate threat to consumers) or non-critical (a failure of cleaning or maintenance), they said.

These inspections are considered by the Health District as a snapshot of a specific day of operation.

According to the agency, “Ideally, an operation would have no critical violations, or none which are not corrected immediately and not repeated. In our experience, it is unrealistic to expect that a complex, full-service food operation can routinely avoid any violations.”