Food for Thought Report 8.10 - KCBD NewsChannel 11 Lubbock

Rodent droppings and roaches that's just part of the list of violations in this week's Food for Thought. NewsChannel 11's Christy Hartin dishes out the rest.

Our top performers are a variety of sorts.

First, all concessions at the Lubbock Civic Center at 1501 6th Street were flawless.

Three venders at the flea market were perfect as well - Diaz Fruit, Mota Flea Market and Panaderia 3 Hermanos are open during the weekends at 2323 Avenue K. All had zero critical violations.

Food for Thought 8.10 Here is a complete list of the restaurants and their violations for the week ending on 8/10/06.

But another booth at the flea market didn't do so well. Mexico Chiquito had five critical violations.

• Grapes had mold growing on them, and food was found uncovered in the refrigerator.
• There was no hot water.
• Roaches were found on the premises.
• Rodent droppings were also found.
• Cutting boards were not in good condition. Plywood was being used to cut on instead of an approved wood. And the refrigerator was heavily soiled.

We contacted the vender, but after repeated attempts no one answered our calls.

Popeye's at 5102 Slide Road is a low performer with four critical violations including:

• Chicken, milk, rice, Cajun meat and gravy were between 48 and 53 degrees. They must be 41 degrees or colder.
• There was no hot water at a hand sink in the food area.
• Refrigerators were not holding at 41 degrees or lower.
• A hand sink was blocked by dirty dishes on the floor.

We contacted management at Popeye's they tells us, "We had a gas leak and the walk-in cooler went down. We had it up and running within an hour after the inspection." Popeye's says customer satisfaction is top priority, and you can be assured your food is served in a clean and safe environment.

And when it comes to Lubbock restaurants tighter rules and regulations are on the way. City council approved the tighter restrictions Thursday.

One change requires all food establishments to have at least one certified food manager on staff, "Instead of us going in and regulating and telling them what they have to do, the actual managers can take control of their own facilities and have food safety in mind as they do their daily routine," City of Lubbock Environmental Health manager Bridget Faulkenberry said.  

In addition, standard health inspections, like the ones we report on Food for Thought, will be more thorough, "Zero is perfect and we hope to see more of those," Faulkenberry said. But one of the new regulations is actually less strict. Under the new guidelines, hot foods will have to be kept at 135 degrees instead of 140.

Another change requires restaurant employees to report Norovirus or stomach flu infections to their managers. The virus is contagious and infected food handlers can easily contaminate food so employees must be cleared by a physician before returning to work.

These changes were recommended by the state and most go into effect October 1st.