Restaurant Inspections: Health District Cites Gainesville Restaurant for 20 Violations

China East Restaurant, located at 16838 Piedmont Center Plaza in Gainesville, was recently visited by the Prince William Health District for a routine inspection. The restaurant was cited for 20 violations.

According to the May 7 Health District report, the critical violations include:

Critical (Corrected During Inspection): Food handlers eating in kitchen area where they may contaminate food, clean equipment, utensils or other items needing protection.

Critical Repeat (Corrected During Inspection): Raw foods of animal origin stored over ready-to-eat (RTE) food in the refrigeration unit.

Critical (Corrected During Inspection): A food employee failed to wash his hands before engaging in food preparation after handling soiled utensils or after engaging in any activity which may have contaminated his/her hands.

Critical Repeat (Corrected During Inspection): Different types of raw animal foods stored in such a manner that may cause cross contamination.

Critical (Corrected During Inspection): Container of cleaning product are not properly stored to prevent the contamination of food, equipment, utensils, single service items.

Other non-critical violations include:

• A sign or poster that notifies food employees to wash their hands is not provided at the handsink by the tea urn.

• Corrected During Inspection: Soap was not provided at the hand washing sink by the dishwasher.
• Corrected During Inspection: The handwashing sink by the dishwasher was blocked, preventing access by employees for handwashing.
• There was no thermometer located in the prep cooler.
• Food stored on the floor in the walk-in cooler and freezer.
• Employees observed working in the food service area without proper hair restraints.
• Repeat: Rice scoops improperly stored between uses.
• Plastic bottle racks being used as storage platforms.
• Cardboard liner on top of microwave oven.
• Repeat: The mop sink water line to the chemical mixer/dispenser lacks a backflow or backsiphonage prevention device identified as meeting standards set by the American Society of Sanitary Engineering.
• Cardboard liners on walk-in freezer floor.
• Corrected During Inspection: Mop stored at rear kitchen handsink.
• Repeat: Dead/missing bulbs and lamps in the exhaust hoods and kitchen ceiling.
• Less than 20 foot candles of light was noted at the handsink by the tea urn. Measured 10 foot-candles.
• Less than 50 foot candles of light was noted in the cooking line.

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“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.”