This week, Springfield-Greene County Health Department food inspectors observed employees vaping in a kitchen and, at another kitchen, unsafe hand hygiene while handling food.
At Bambu Vietnamese Cuisine, 1338 E. Battlefield Road, inspectors watched on Oct. 1 as an employee vape in the kitchen over a surface where food would be put, according to the inspection report. The priority violation was corrected by cleaning the surface before food touched it.
On Oct. 5, inspectors visited Strafford Travel Center, 325 E. Evergreen St. in Strafford, and saw poor hand hygiene while handling food, according to the report. One employee took payment at the register and handled food product without changing their gloves or washing their hands and another employee handled ready-to-eat
food in the kitchen with bare hands.
Issues found during inspections fall into either priority or non-priority violations. Priority violations impact the safety of the food, such as cross-contamination between raw and ready-to-eat food, improper food temperature and poor personal hygiene and employee health. Multiple priority violations can lead to an establishment being shut down. Non-priority violations alone do not directly affect food safety, such as dirty floors, sticky tabletops or outside trash cans not being covered.
Food inspections take place one to three times a year, depending on the type of food served, the population served, difficulty of food preparation and past history. Restaurants preparing food from raw ingredients are inspected more often "than convenience stores that serve only non-potentially hazardous foods, such as popcorn and soda," according to the Springfield-Greene County Health Department.
Each report identifies what was happening at the establishment at that time. Consumers who want to know whether a violation is a one-time thing or a pattern are encouraged to refer to previous reports.
Here are food inspections from the past week:
Angela's Kitchen Creations, 1645 W. Republic Road, Springfield. Oct. 10 routine inspection – Result: active. No violations observed.
Bair's All-American Sports Grill, 1644 E. U.S. Highway 60 East, Republic. Sept. 30 routine inspection – Result: active. No priority violations. One non-priority violation: Observed significant buildup of food debris under dish machine and under kitchen equipment.
Bambu Vietnamese Cuisine, 1338 E. Battlefield Road, Springfield. Oct. 1 routine inspection – Result: active. One priority violation: Observed food worker vaping in kitchen over food-contact surface, education provided and area cleaned. Two non-priority violations: Observed hose that was not food-grade safe being used to rinse raw meat, education given that hose may only be used on floor; observed server hand sink being used for purposes other than just hand washing, ice and straws were found in sink basin.
Big Easy Grill, 3641 E. Sunshine St., Springfield. Sept. 29 routine inspection – Result: active. No violations cited.
Brew 21, 1910 S. Farm Road 107, Springfield. Oct. 2 routine inspection – Result: active. No violations cited.
Cantonese Kitchen, 839 N. Glenstone Ave., Springfield. Sept. 30 routine inspection – Result: active. No violations observed.
Captain D's No. 3765, 2604 E. Sunshine St., Springfield. Oct. 1 routine inspection – Result: permitted with re-inspection. Re-inspection required to follow up on damaged hand sink. One priority violation: Observed hand sink basin has a large crack resulting in grey water flowing outside sink basin through the crack and pooling on the floor below the hand sink and expanding outward, re-inspection required. No non-priority violations.
Cassidy Coffee Co., 4144 S. Lone Pine Ave., Springfield. Sept. 29 routine inspection – Result: active. No violations cited.
Chicken Salad Chick, 1322 E. Battlefield Road, Springfield. Oct. 5 re-inspection – Result: active. Priority violation had been corrected prior to re-inspection.
College Street Cafe, 1622 W. College St., Springfield. Oct. 5 routine inspection – Result: active. Two priority violations: Observed chili holding at 106 degrees Fahrenheit in hot hold unit, which was corrected on site by reheating chili to above 165 degrees Fahrenheit and education given; observed chlorine sanitizer tested below 50 parts per million inside three-vat sink, which was corrected on site and education given. One non-priority violation: Observed microwave door handle not in good repair, education given.
Cousins Maine Lobster, Springfield. Oct. 1 routine inspection – Result: active. No violations cited.
Delaware Elementary, 1505 S. Delaware Ave., Springfield. Sept. 30 routine inspection – Result: active. No violations cited.
Domino's Pizza, 407 E. Walnut Lane, Willard. Sept. 29 routine inspection – Result: active. No violations cited.
Donut Time, 4157 S. Scenic Ave., Springfield. Oct. 2 routine inspection – Result: active. One priority violation: Observed sanitizer bucket tested above 100 parts per million chlorine sanitizer, which was corrected on site and education given. Two non-priority violations: Observed floors not clean, education provided; observed daylight along the bottom of the exterior door, education given.
Early Bird Breakfast Pub, 1717 E. Cherokee St., Springfield. Oct. 1 routine inspection – Result: active. One priority violation: Observed cut leaf spinach sitting on counter top tested at 68 degrees, which was corrected by placing spinach on time as control and to be discarded at the end of 4 hours. Two non-priority violations: Observed whole shell eggs left out at room temperature, which were not marked for time as control, which was corrected on site by making eggs for accurate discard time and education given; observed employee drink stored over top food prep cooler, which was corrected on site by moving drinks to designated area.
Godfather's Pizza, 5453 S. State Highway FF, Battlefield. Oct. 1 routine inspection – Result: active. No priority violations. One non-priority violations: Observed ceiling vents not clean, education given.
Hickory Hills Country Club, 3909 E. Cherry St., Springfield. Sept. 30 routine inspection – Result: active. One priority violation: Observed several potentially hazardous food items in main kitchen held past 7 day discard date, which was a repeat violation and corrected on site by discarding items. No non-priority violations.
Hillcrest High School Cafeteria, 3319 N. Grant Ave., Springfield. Oct. 5 routine inspection – Result: active. No violations observed during inspection.
H-N-H Chinese Restaurant, 307 E. Proctor Road, Willard. Oct. 5 routine inspection – Result: active. No priority violations. Two non-priority violations: Observed employee beverages stored above customer foods in cooler, which was corrected on site and education given; observed grease buildip on hood range filters above fryers, education given.
Homemade Delivered & Catering, 540 W. McDaniel St,. Springfield. Oct. 5 routine inspection – Result: active. No violations observed during 30 day inspection.
Jamaican Patty Co., 3439 S. Campbell Ave., Springfield. Sept. 29 routine inspection – Result: active. No violations cited.
La Quinta, 2535 S. Campbell Ave., Springfield. Sept. 30 re-inspection – Result: active. Priority violation was corrected prior to re-inspection.
Maverik No. 5192, 3449 W. Kearney St., Springfield. Sept. 30 routine inspection – Result: active. No violations cited.
Maverik No. 5379, 2150 S. Glenstone Ave., Springfield. Sept. 29 routine inspection – Result: active. No violations cited.
Max Orient No. 2, 1155 E. Battlefield Road, Springfield. Sept. 30 routine inspection – Result: permitted with re-inspection. One priority violation: Observed noodles not cooled properly in the walk-in cooler from the previous day, which were voluntarily discarded and re-inspection will occur. One non-priority violation: Observed ice machine deflector not clean with buildup of debris.
Max Orient No. 2, 1155 E. Battlefield Road, Springfield. Oct. 2 re-inspection – Result: active. Violations had been corrected prior to re-inspection. No violations noted.
McDonald's No. 1207, 2512 E. Sunshine St., Springfield. Sept. 29 routine inspection – Result: active. No violations cited.
Middle Beast Hookah Cafe LLC, 715 W. College St., Springfield. Sept. 30 routine inspection – Result: active. No violations cited.
Middle Beast Market LLC, 719 W. College St., Springfield. Sept. 30 routine inspection – Result: active. No violations observed.
Pleasant View School, 2210 E. State Highway AA, Springfield. Sept. 29 routine inspection – Result: active. No violations cited during inspection.
Price Cutter No. 12 Deli, 712 W. Commercial St., Springfield. Oct. 5 routine inspection – Result: active. No priority violations. One non-priority violation: Observed no ingredients listed on packaged foods in customer reach-in cooler such as BBQ ribs and macaroni and cheese, which is the fourth consecutive inspection to ahve this violation.
Rebar 2 LLC, 2925 W. Republic Road, Springfield. Oct. 2 re-inspection – Result: active. On site for re-inspection of cold hold unit, violation has been corrected. No violations.
Reed Middle School, 407 W. Atlantic St., Springfield. Oct. 1 routine inspection – Result: active. No violations cited.
Shanghai Inn - Prime Build LLC, 1937 N. Glenstone Ave., Springfield. Sept. 30 routine inspection – Result: active. No priority violations. Two non-priority violations: Observed floors underneath equipment and ceiling vent in kitchen not clean, education given; observed seal on back exterior door in disrepair, education given.
Spring MO Drink Co. LLC, 2134 S. Holland Ave., Springfield. Oct. 2 routine inspection – Result: permitted with re-inspection. One priority violation: Observed cream at 48 degrees in mini fridge and fridge thermometer showing ambient temperature at 48 degrees, all items requiring temperature control were recently put in this fridge and moved to ice unit for cold holding, re-inspection required. No non-priority violations.
Springfield Southside Seniors, 2215 S. Fremont Ave., Springfield. Oct. 1 routine inspection – Result: active. No violations cited at time of inspection.
Strafford Travel Center, 325 E. Evergreen St., Strafford. Oct. 5 routine inspection – Result: active. Six priority violations: Observed designated person in charge of facility not available upon arrival, education given; observed employee taking payment at register and then handling food product without hand washing and changing gloves, education given; observed potentially hazardous foods with labels requiring refrigeration being stored at room temperature, food voluntarily discarded and education given; observed several containers of potentially hazardous foods found without proper date marking, which was corrected on site and education given; observed multiple containers of potentially hazardous foods stored past discard date, which was voluntarily discarded and education provided; observed an employee handling ready-to-eat food product with bare hands in the kitchen, which was corrected on site and education given. Two non-priority violations: Observed potentially hazardous food without being labeled properly for time as a control procedures, which was corrected on site and education given; observed dishes found stacked prior to proper air drying, education given.
Sushi Do, 901 S. National Ave., Springfield. Oct. 5 routine inspection – Result: active. One priority violation: Observed chicken for poke bowls not holding at 135 degrees, which was corrected on site by reheating chicken to 165 degrees. No non-priority violations.
The Big Biscuit, 2920 S. Glenstone Ave., Springfield. Oct. 2 routine inspection – Result: active. No violations cited.
The Big Biscuit, 3620 S. Campbell Ave., Springfield. Sept. 30 routine inspection – Result: active. No violations cited.
The Grotto, 301 E. Battlefield Road, Springfield. Oct. 2 routine inspection – Result: permitted with re-inspection. One priority violation: Observed potentially hazardous food items held above 41 degrees in kitchen's line cold holding unit, re-inspection date set. No non-priority violations.
The Hive, 304 E. Jackson St., Willard. Oct. 5 routine inspection – Result: active. No violations cited.
Uptown Hog, Springfield. Oct. 2 routine inspection – Result: active. No violations cited.
Wanda Gray School, 2101 W. Farm Road 182, Springfield. Oct. 1 routine inspection – Result: active. No violations cited during inspection.
Willard High School Football Concession, 515 E. Jackson St., Willard. Oct. 5 routine inspection – Result: active. No vioaltions cited.
Yum Yum Bowl, 706 E. Battlefield Road, Springfield. Sept. 30 re-inspection – Result: active. Prioity violation had been corrected prior to re-inspection, no cockroaches seen during re-inspection. No violations cited.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Employees vaping, handling food with bare hands in Greene Co. kitchens
