Food for Thought Report 1.27 - KCBD NewsChannel 11 Lubbock

We start with the good news. Taco Bell at 4928 50th Street is our Top Performer this week with no critical violations. Management at this Taco Bell say cleanliness is of the utmost importance to their customers and that's why they strive to be a top performer.

Food for Thought 1.27 Here is a complete list of the restaurants and their violations for the week ending on 1/27/05.

Now to the low performers. Souper Salad at 6703 Slide Road had four critical violations.

• Watermelon and tuna salad at the buffet were found cold at 50 degrees, they should be at least 45 degrees or colder to prevent food borne illness. Cooked eggs on the buffet were found at 62 degrees when they too should have been at least 45 or colder.
• Personal drinks were on a shelf by some cooking spices with out a lid. That was corrected on site.
• Pressured water was not available at a hand sink by the stove.
• A can opener was found soiled, which was also corrected on site.

Souper Salad management says they expect all violations will be corrected in their follow-up inspection.

Now we travel down the road to Durango's at 4001 19th Street. They had five critical violations.

• Carne guisada in the walk in cooler was found at 50 degrees. Remember, it needs to be 45 or colder.
• Same story with the eggs on the food line. They were at 55 degrees.
• Food was also being served at improper temperatures. Inspectors say chili relleno, roast and beans were taken from the walk-in and placed on the steam table with without being re-heated to safe levels.
• A hand washing station was without paper towels
• The ice machine and ice cream scoop were found soiled.

All violations were corrected on site. Durango's management says, "We made some carne guisada the night before and the pan that we put it in was too big so the center was not cold enough so we threw it away. We make mistakes. We're not gonna deny that. But we just need to keep a closer watch on it. It is very important to us."

Our final low performer is Jumbo Joe's #3 at 1520 Ave Q, where inspectors discovered seven critical violations:

• Beans and chili on the steam table not reheated within two hours.
• Employee drinks were found in a food prep area without a lid.
• Liquid was dripping onto breaded fish in the walk in cooler.
• Deli meat and shredded cheese were not date marked to prove they were fresh.
• Hand washing facilities were lacking paper towels.
• A thermometer was not provided in the reach in cooler.
• An ice scoop was stored on a surface that was not sanitized.

All violations were corrected on site. Management could not be reached for comment.