Food for Thought Report 6.21 - KCBD NewsChannel 11 Lubbock

Put a cherry on top of this one because it is sweet perfection times three.

There's nothing cold about our first top performer, well except for their name and what they serve. Cold Stone Creamery at 8215 University heats up the list this week with a flawless health inspection.

Whether chocolate chip or peanut butter tempts your taste buds, our other two top performers are fresh out of the oven.

Mrs. Field's Cookies and the Original Great American Cookie Company - both inside the South Plains Mall - offer fresh, warm perfection served up in a bite-sized treat.

We also find our first low performer inside the South Plains Mall.

Inspectors cited Villa Pizza with six critical violations.

• An employee's drink was found in the kitchen area.
• A fan, heavily soiled with dust, was blowing onto food.
• Several foods were not date-marked.
• A mop bucket was blocking access to a bathroom hand sink.
• Toxic items were not properly stored.
• Soda nozzles were sticky, and the ice dispenser was rusted.

Management says all violations have been corrected. According to the report, all but one of the violations were corrected while the inspector was there.

Food for Thought 6.21 Here is a complete list of the restaurants and their violations for the week ending on 6/21/07.

Next we head to IHOP at 1627 University where inspectors also found six critical violations.

• Several items were not 41 degrees or below, including eggs that were discarded after inspectors found them to be 68 degrees.
• An employee did not wash their hands before putting on a new pair of gloves.
• A water line did not have back flow prevention device - this protects the water from contamination.
• There were no towels at a hand wash station.
• Toxic items were not properly labeled or stored.
• Several food contact surfaces were soiled.

Management says all violations have been corrected. The report shows all but one of the violations were corrected during the inspection.

And our last low performer is China Star at 1919 50th Street with ten critical violations.

• Rice was not cooling properly. The cooling period is crucial for food since bacteria grows rapidly at room temperature.
• Several cold
• And hot foods were not at their safe temperatures.
• Coolers were not holding at 41 degrees or below.
• Employees' personal drinks were stored above ready to eat foods.
• Multiple cans were dented.
• Several bowls, that were supposed to be clean, had raw chicken blood or juice in them, and according to the report the juices had a foul odor.

Juices from raw beef were dripping onto potatoes in a cooler.

A scoop in a flour bin was extremely soiled.

• Fly-strips were hanging from the ceiling throughout the kitchen. Toxic items were not properly stored.
• Dishwashing sanitizer was too strong.
• Several items were soiled.

Management says the inspectors have been back out for a re-inspection and all violations have been corrected. They add, that customer safety is their utmost priority and at no time was their safety ever in jeopardy. The report shows two violations were corrected at the time of the inspection.