Food for Thought Report 8.24 - KCBD NewsChannel 11 Lubbock

As LISD students head back to the classroom, Lubbock health inspectors head into the cafeterias.  They're checking to make sure your kids are eating in a clean and safe environment.  NewsChannel 11's Christy Hartin has the first progress report of the semester.

Out of the six school inspected this week, four kick off the school year with a great start!

Dupre Elementary at 2008 Avenue T, Iles Elementary at 2401 Date,  Overton Elementary at 2902 Louisville and Ramirez Elementary at 702 Avenue T all get gold stars for their efforts - they had perfect health inspections.

Food for Thought 8.24 Here is a complete list of the restaurants and their violations for the week ending on 8/24/06.

J B's Burgers at 2013 North Ash Avenue grilled up a perfect score this week, making them a NewsChannel 11 top performer.

Roscoe Wilson Elementary School at 2807 25th street had one violation.

• Inspectors found a small amount of mold and mildew inside an ice machine.

And O.L. Slaton Junior High at 1600 32nd Street had two violations.

• A walk-in cooler was holding at 56 degrees. It must be 41 degrees or colder.
• A hand washing sink did not have paper towels. 

NewsChannel 11 contacted Aramark School Support Services, who manages all of LISD's kitchens, they released this comment: "Our top priority is to ensure that the food served at LISD is of the highest quality within the safest environment possible.  We continuously train our managers and employees on proper techniques in food handling and food safety procedures.  The violations that were found during the inspection were corrected on site."  

Now on to our two low performing restaurants.

Inspectors cited Mi Tierra at 4102 34th Street with four critical violations.

• Beans were found at 53 degrees and barbacoa was at 51 degrees.  Cold foods must be 41 degrees or colder.
• An employee touched their clothing while preparing food and did not wash their hands.
• An employee washed their gloved hands instead of washing their bare hands and then putting on clean gloves.  An employee also handled ready to eat foods with un sanitized bare hands. 
• The inspector also noted several unsound food contact surfaces, including: chipped plates, a soiled blade on a can opener, a soiled microwave, mildew inside an ice machine, and an ice scoop stored on a soiled plate.

We contacted the owners of Mi Tierra.  They said, "A new employee was working when the inspector came in, that employee has since been fully trained."  They also said, "They have gone over all procedures with employees, and (the violations) will not happen again."  They say their customers come first and they always strive to have the best quality food possible.

Next we head to Pei Wei Asian Diner at 4210 82nd Street where inspectors found seven critical violations.

• Raw chicken was found at 50 and 51 degrees.  Eggs were found at 64 degrees.  And minced chicken was found at 73 degrees.  That's 32 degrees above the safe level of 41 degrees.
• Fried rice was found at 119 degrees. To kill bacteria hot foods must be 140 degree or hotter.
• Uncovered personal drinks were found near food products in the kitchen area.
• Cracked eggs were found stored on the inline unit.
• Two hand washing sinks in the kitchen did not have hot water.
• Sanitizer buckets did not have any sanitizer in the solution.
• Soiled pans were stored with clean pans.

We contacted management at Pei Wei they said they could not comment on the violations or the health report.  We also contacted Pei Wei's corporate office, they say a cooling unit and a heating unit went out right before the inspection.  They say both were fixed before the inspector even left.  The report shows all violations were corrected at the time of the inspection.