RESTAURANT INSPECTIONS: Smashburger Cited for Food Temperature, Sanitary Issues

During a routine inspection last week, the Prince William Health District found issues with the Gainesville location of Smashburger. 

The restaurant, located at 14082 Promenade Commons Street in Gainesville, was inspected Nov. 7 and three "priority" and five "core" violations were reported.

According to the Health District report, the priority violations include:

Priority (Corrected During Inspection): Sliced cheese located in the reach in cooler near the grill was cold holding at an improper temperatures of 46 degrees Fahrenheit.

Priority: The food-contact surfaces of the following equipment were not observed sanitized: warewashing machine.

Priority: A backflow prevention device or airgap not provided on Y adaptor at the mop sink as required by law.

Core violations include:

• Core: The crate in the walk in freezer is holding frozen fried potatoes is not durable, nonabsorbent, easily cleanable, resistant to pitting.
• Core (Corrected During inspection): There was no temperature measuring device located in the reach in cooler near the grill and the upright freezer.
• Core: The warewashing machine was observed in a state of disrepair and damaged.
• Core: The cutting board(s) used for cutting vegetables near the walk in cooler and above the 3 vat sink are heavily scratched and scored. The food contact surface is no longer easily cleaned and sanitized due to condition.
• Core: The floor and corners of the walk in freezer are noted in need of cleaning from debris.

Click here to search for detailed information about this restaurant.

“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.”