Raw Chicken, Cold Meatballs At Rockville Eateries: Critical Violations

ROCKVILLE, MD —Inspectors with the Montgomery County Health and Human Services Department recently cited two Rockville restaurants for critical violations. Both failed to keep spoilable food at the correct temperatures.

All Montgomery County licensed retail food establishments are inspected by the Licensure & Regulatory Services Program. Regular comprehensive inspections include evaluating an establishment's sanitation, maintenance and food service operations. These inspections include monitoring critical temperatures and food handling procedures.

Both of the restaurants that inspectors visited on Sept. 18 and Sept. 19 were cited for critical violations of food safety requirements.

"A Critical Violation means a food safety requirement that requires immediate correction," according to the health and human services website. "Failure for immediate correction results in cessation of some or all food operations or closure of the facility until violation is able to be corrected."

Paisano's Pizza

During a Sept. 18 inspection of the Paisano's Pizza located at 891-G Rockville Pike, an HHS inspector cited the restaurant with two critical violations involving the temperatures of spoilable food in the kitchen holding area.

"Peeled boiled eggs in the left side prep table in cook line observed above 41 degree F," the inspector wrote in their report. "Eggs were moved to the walk-in cooler for rapid chilling because their holding time was less than four hours.

"Meatballs in the steam table observed below 135 degree F. Items were reheated to above 165 degree F, because their holding time was less than 2 hours."

The inspector noted in their report three additional non-critical violations that remained to be corrected:

• "Wet wipe cloths not stored in sanitizer between uses on the prep table.
• "Dust observed in the ceiling around the vents above the vegetable prep table and near the pizza prep unit. (Repeated violation)
• "A couple of floor tiles near the pizza prep table observed broken. Repair or replace.
• "No Allergen awareness trained personal on site at the time of the inspection."

Crisp & Juicy

During a Sept. 19, an HHS investigator reported a critical violation at the Crisp & Juicy located at 10755 Colesville Road involving the temperature of spoilable food in the restaurant's holding area.

"Raw whole chickens stored in two white bins in the walk-in refrigerator observed above 41 degree F," the report said. "Chicken from the two white bins were voluntarily discarded because their holding time was more than 4 hours (since yesterday)."

During the inspection, the inspector reported observing staff members correcting two non-critical health code violations:

• "Water temperature of the steam table observed at 92 degree F. (Corrected on site) (water temperature observed above 135 degree F before I left the facility. Do not stock hot PHF in the steam table until the water temperature reaches at least 135 degree F.
• "Raw shell eggs observed stored on the top shelf with ready-to-eat (RTE) dessert while RTE salad observed on the bottom shelf of the TRUE reach-in refrigerator. (Repeated violation) (Corrected on site)"

Crisp and Juicy had two non-critical that the staff needed to address:

• Wet wiping cloths observed not stored in sanitizer solution in between uses in the main kitchen cook line prep area. (Repeated violation) NOTE: Store in sanitizing solutions in between uses."
• "The walk-in refrigerator observed not maintaining its regulated cold holding temperature to keep potentially hazardous foods (PHF) at 41 degree F or below. Ambient temperature of the unit observed at 43 degree F. Call a technician and repair the unit within 24 hours. In the mean time, put ice in all of the PHF. A follow up inspection will be conducted within 24 hours."

The inspector instructed restaurant staff that the cutting board that they placed cooked rotisserie needed to be sanitized each time before they transferred the chicken to the warmer.

The inspector also noted that the restaurant needed to update the signage on its single-use restrooms, removing "Men" and "Women" and changing it to "All-Gender," "Unisex," "Toilet," or "restroom." This would bring it into compliance with Montgomery County Bill #4-22, which went into effect on Nov. 7, 2022.

Related:

• Dead Crab, Algae, Mold Reported At Rockville Food Service Facility
• Mold, Droppings Found At 2 Rockville Food Establishments: Violations