Food for Thought Report 6.6 - KCBD NewsChannel 11 Lubbock

More than 20 kitchens were on the agenda for city health inspectors this week. Out of those, there are two Top Performers and four Low Performers.

They boast the funny name but serious sandwich, and we're taking their perfection in the kitchen seriously too. Schlotzky's at 5204 Slide Road is a Food for Thought Top Performer with zero critical violations.

Taking the cake, and a Top Performance certificate is Bakery Creations at 3414 82nd St. They also had zero critical violations.

The Low Performing list starts at Town and Country at 8112 Avenue H. Inspectors found four critical violations. Violations including

• Improper hot hold on potentially hazardous foods.
• There was improper and inadequate hand washing, employees must wash their hands before putting on gloves.
• A hand sink was not accessible due to a drink container.
• A wiping cloth and thermometers were not accurate.

Other violations included improper storage of wiping cloths, personal items stored with food products, exposed portions of wood on kitchen equipment and products in original unlabeled containers.

The manager at Town and Country tells Food for Thought that all critical violations have been corrected, the inspection report states that as well.

Pizza Hut at 1905 50th St. is our next Low Performer with four critical violations.

• Improper hygienic practices, open drink containers were being used by employees, drink containers must have closed lids. There was also a personal food product stored in the freezer.
• There was cross contamination potential due to food storage arrangement. Containers with food products inside them were stacked within one another.
• An improper date marking system was in place. Products must have an expiration date.
• Toxic items were stored among food contact equipment and surfaces.

Other violations included inadequate lighting in a walk in cooling unit, the interior ceiling of a walk in was heavily soiled with dirt, lint and mold, there was build up on an ice machine lid and utensils were not protected during storage.

A representative at the franchise office for Pizza Hut tells Food for Thought that this is the first time a local Pizza Hut has ever been a Low Performer, and that they take food safety very seriously. All managers are certified in a food safety course, and they will be watching to make sure they are not a Low Performer again. The inspection report states that all critical violations have been corrected.

Our next Low Performer is Taco Villa at 1911 50th St. The six violations found there included:

• Cold food found at improper temperatures. Cheese was found at 51 degrees, cold foods should be kept at between 41 and 45 degrees or colder.
• There was inadequate hand washing. Employees were found not washing their hands before putting on gloves.
• A hand sink was being used for purposes other than hand washing, the hand sink was full of ice.
• Spoiled lemons were found stored with other lemons.
• An improper date marking system was being used. A product was not accurately marked with an expiration date.
• A hand sink in the dish room had no paper towels.

Other violations included a ceiling and fan soiled with dust and lint inside a walk in cooler, improper storage of wiping cloths and tiles missing from a wall.

A representative at Taco Villa's corporate offices told us all critical violations have been corrected, and this restaurant has been a Top Performer in the past. The inspection report says all critical violations were corrected on site.

Our last Low Performer is Arby's at 3215 50 Street. Inspectors found six critical violations. Violations including:

• Cold foods found at improper temperatures. Swiss cheese was found at 60 degrees, cold foods should be kept at between 41 and 45 degrees or colder.
• Hot food was found at improper temperatures. Roast beef was found at 131 degrees, hot foods should be kept at a minimum of 140 degrees.
• There was inadequate hand washing. Employees were not washing their hands prior to putting on gloves, and employees were not washing their hands after eating and drinking.
• There was possible cross contamination due to food storage arrangement. An open egg product was found stored above other food products and containers.
• Thermometers were found to be inaccurate.
• Food contact surfaces were heavily soiled. A food container scoop and lid were heavily soiled and left uncleaned for an extended period of time.

Other violations included inaccurate lighting in a cooling unit, toxic items not properly labeled, a dead roach found on the floor and wiping cloths not properly stored when not in use. The manager at

Arby's told us they are in the process of correcting all violations.