Food for Thought Report 5.4 - KCBD NewsChannel 11 Lubbock

Six schools and four restaurants are on this week's Food for Thought list.

The countdown to summer break is underway. But that doesn't mean health inspectors are giving school cafeterias a break. Four of them have reports to be proud of, the other two - need to step up before the end of the semester!

Food for Thought 5.4 Here is a complete list of the restaurants and their violations for the week ending on 5/4/06.

Alderson Academy at 219 Walnut Avenue got a big zero this week, but that means zero critical violations - making them a top performer.

Next we head to Bozeman Elementary at 3101 East 2nd Street where perfection continues. They're also a top performer.

Coronado High School at 3307 Vicksburg Avenue also gets good news this week; They're topping the Food for Thought list as well.

And finally Stubbs Headstart at 3516 Toledo Avenue ends the semester with a perfect score.

Now to the schools that need improvement.

Wester Elementary at 4602 Chicago had one critical violation.

• A thermometer was not properly calibrated.

And when it comes to inspecting your kids school, it's not only what's in the kitchen. Inspectors also say toilet paper was stacked on the dispenser instead of properly place in the dispenser.

Both violations were corrected on site.

Now to Honey Elementary at 3615 86th street. They were sited for two critical violations.

• Sliced ham was not date-marked, and turkey had two extra days added to its date marking.
• Spay bottles containing an unknown solution were not labeled.

Inspectors also cited the school for a dusty vent hood. Both critical violations were corrected on site.

Now on to our low performing restaurants.

We start at Chinese Kitchen at 3715 19th Street with four critical violations.

• Inspectors found prepared food at potentially hazardous temperatures: chicken at 132 degrees, pork at 125 degrees and egg rolls at 121 degrees. The safe temperature is 140 degree.
• Good hygienic practices were not being followed. An employee was observed eating behind the serving line, and ice was dumped in a hand washing sink.
• Inspectors noted no hot water at the hand sink in the men's restroom.
• Food contact surfaces were found soiled, including: mildew and mold in the ice machine and a soiled blades on the can opener.

Other violations include a soiled area under a sink and a rotten and disintegrating shelf under another sink. Management at Chinese kitchen says, "All violations have been corrected." The report states that most of the violations were corrected on site.

Next we move to Long John Silver's at 2344 19th Street. They also had four critical violations.

• Cole slaw was found at 57 degrees. Cold food must be 41 degrees or cold to remain safe to eat.
• Inspectors noticed a cup and wiping cloths in front of a hand washing sink.
• A spay bottle of cleaner was stored on top of bagged cups, and boxed food carriers were found next to toxic items near the ice machine.
• An ice-scoop was found on an unsantizied surface on top of the ice machine and clean utensils were stored in a soiled drawer.

Inspectors say light shields were missing above the food prep area. Management at Long John Silver's says, "Everything was corrected immediately when it was brought to our attention." The reports shows that all violations were corrected on site.

Subway at 2515 82nd is next with five critical violations.

• Potentially hazardous food products were not found at safe temperatures.
• Employees were not washing their hands between job duties.
• Good hygienic practices were not being followed including: an open drink found in the food prep area, and a hand sink being used for purposes other than hand washing.
• Inspectors found Cajun steak with mold on it.
• Food containers were found dirty.

Subway says, "Due to this incident that manager is no longer at this location." They had no further comment. According to the report all violations were corrected on site.

O'hanas Japanese Steak House at 5217 82nd Street had six critical violations.

• Cooked rice was found on a counter top at 74 degrees, that's 33 degrees above the safe temperature.
• A personal drink was found above the prep counter, and an employee was drinking coffee while preparing food.
• Potentially hazardous ready to eat food items were not being date marked.
• A hand washing sink was being used to store items. Hand washing sinks are for hand washing only.
• A hand washing station was out of paper towels.
• A spatula was broken, and soiled knives were stored with clean knives.

Other violations include: raw seafood stored above and beside ready to eat food items, shrimp being thawed in water, raw chicken stored above raw beef, vent hood soiled, and a reach in cooler was soiled. O'hanas management says, "The inspector came in before we even opened. Of course we always strive to make sure our customers our top priority. These were very minor violations that were corrected on the site." The report shows that as well.