Summit County Public Health has inspected over 340 facilities that serve food during the month of August, including restaurants, nursing homes, grocery stores and gas stations, according to health data obtained by the Akron Beacon Journal.
Food establishments are inspected one to four times per year, depending on the likelihood of a foodborne illness. Inspectors make sure these establishments are compliant with the Ohio Uniform Food Safety Code, which ensures food is safe for public consumption.
Establishments with multiple uncorrected violations can have their licenses revoked or suspended, or in a severe case, the establishment could be forced to close permanently.
Which Summit County establishments had the most critical violations in August?
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Lemongrass Grill, 20 N Main Street, Munroe Falls: Inspectors found 16 critical violations, including the person in charge being unable to ensure employees are properly sanitizing equipment and utensils or effectively cleaning their hands as well as the improper cleaning of food-contact surfaces or utensils.
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Main Xin, 4439 Kent Road, Stow: Inspectors found 10 critical violations including the improper washing of hands/arms, employees not correctly maintaining temperatures of foods during hot/cold storage and improperly labeling containers of poisonous or toxic materials (corrected during inspection).
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Twisted Tomato Pizzeria, 3031 Graham Road, Stow: Inspectors found eight critical violations including unclean utensils and food-contact surfaces, the presence of live pests during the inspection and food not being stored at the proper hot and cold temperature (corrected during inspection).
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Mature Lounge, 271 Main Street, Akron: Inspectors found seven critical violations including uncleaned food-contact surfaces and utensils, improper storage of poisonous or toxic materials (corrected during inspection) and employees not informed of their responsibility to report information about their health.
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Romeo’s Pizza, 134 E Aurora Road, Northfield: Inspectors found seven critical violations including the handwashing sink not being accessible at all times (corrected during inspection), the improper labeling of poisonous/toxic materials (corrected during inspection) and unclean food-contact surfaces and utensils (corrected during inspection).
What are the types of violations?
The two types of violations that health inspectors look for: critical and non-critical violations.
Critical violations are those violations that, if left uncorrected, are “more likely to contribute to food contamination or illness,” according to the Summit County Health Department. Examples of critical violations include the improper cooking, reheating or refrigeration of food items.
Non-critical violations are not directly related to foodborne illnesses, but they could still impact the restaurant and lead to critical violations if not corrected. Examples include a lack of facility cleanliness and maintenance.
What types of inspections are there?
The following are the seven types of inspections, according to Summit County Public Health:
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Standard: This inspection is unannounced to the facility. A local health department sanitarian will conduct a complete inspection covering all items in the regulations for compliance.
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30 Day Inspection: This is a standard inspection that must be conducted no more than 30 days after a license is issued to a new Food Service Operation or Retail Food Establishment.
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Pre-license Inspection: This inspection is not required, but may be conducted by the local health department prior to issuing a license to a new Food Service Operation or Retail Food Establishment. The purpose of this inspection is to provide consultation and education to the operator.
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Critical Control Point (CCP): This inspection may be scheduled or unannounced. A sanitarian will spend time reviewing a facility’s food processes that may directly contribute to food contamination or illness and educates the facility on proper procedures.
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Process Review (PR): This inspection may be scheduled or unannounced. This type of inspection is similar to a CCP inspection; however the inspections are conducted in facilities such as grocery stores or convenience stores. The inspection will focus on a specific process that may directly contribute to food contamination or illness.
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Follow-up Inspection: This is an inspection for the specific purpose of re-inspecting items that were not in compliance at the time of the standard, CCP and/or PR inspection. These inspections are scheduled.
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Complaint: This is an unannounced inspection conducted as a result of a complaint received by a local health department. The specifics of the complaint will be evaluated and discussed with the person in charge of the facility.
Reporter Anthony Thompson can be reached at ajthompson@gannett.com, or on Twitter @athompsonABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Which Summit County restaurants had most health code violations in August?
