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A Fresno Denny’s restaurant was shut down for three days in October after failing an inspection by the Fresno County Department of Public Health.
The restaurant, just off Highway 99 and Olive Avenue, was in threat of an “imminent health hazard,” according to an Oct. 6 report, which is available to the public online. The initial inspection was triggered by a complaint that there were rodents in the kitchen and dining area, and that an inspector found evidence of a rodent infestation in the restaurant, including a live rat on the floor of the cook line.
The restaurant was closed for three days and reopened following a reinspection that said no rodents (or other vermin) were observed. The restaurant has been cleaned, sanitized and “all major violations have been corrected.”
In all, six food businesses were closed (or remained closed) across Fresno County in October, according the Health Department’s Facilities Closure Report, which is posted online each month.
They are:
Conchitas Restaurant, on Mendocino Avenue in Parlier, which remains closed following an Oct. 24 inspection. The cause of closure was roach infestation, according to the health department.
The bar inside the City of Clovis Senior Activity Center, which was closed for one day due to a lack of hot water. The center’s commissary remained open.
Hot water is required for restaurants and food business to maintain hand and dish washing and sanitation. It is one of the most common (and easily fixed) health code violations.
Get-N-Go, a convenience store at Maple and Butler avenues, was partially closed for three days following its Oct. 13 inspection. The cause for the closure was vermin infestation (cockroaches), according to the health department report.
Both Del Rey Supermarket and Circle C Market, which were first reported for partial closures back in September. The markets (on Morro Avenue in Del Rey and Kings Canyon Road in Sanger respectively) remain under partial closure, meaning they can only sell prepackaged food.
What are inspectors looking for?
The Fresno County Public Health Department has about two dozen environmental health specialists who monitor almost 5,000 restaurants, snack bars, grocery stores, commissaries, delicatessens and food vendors across the county.
They make unannounced visits several times a year, but are also called out following fires, or in response to complaints or other concerns from the public. This includes when people report what they believe are health or sanitation issues at restaurants (see above).
When inspectors visit a restaurant or other food service business, there is a lengthy and detailed list of more than 50 items that can be cause for violations.
It can be simple: whether the business has the proper license or permit and whether the manager and employees have the required food safety or food-handling certificates. It can also be things like: the hygiene of individual employees or temperature control systems (to keep cold food at or below 41 degrees and hot food above 135 degrees); use of proper sterilization for counters, tables, utensils and cookware; the overall cleanliness of a building (are restrooms stocked with supplies, for example) or where sinks and floor drains are working properly.
Inspectors chronicle their findings in reports made available to the public in a searchable database online.
In most instances, if an inspector finds a problem, it’s something that can be fixed on the spot. That includes things like having enough bleach or sanitizer in the water used to wipe down food-preparation areas; replenishing soap, paper towels and toilet paper in the restrooms, or reminding employees to wash their hands and wear gloves and hairnets.
Serious violations, those that pose an imminent health hazard, can trigger closure and mandatory reinspections. This includes things like rat or roach infestations, or a lack of hot water, but also refrigerators that don’t keep food cold enough or steam tables that don’t keep food hot enough to inhibit bacterial growth. Clogged sinks or drains, can also call for a closure, as contaminated water can back up into kitchens.
The department logs these closures in its online report each month.
Ten businesses were temporarily closed in September. Most reopened within days. For the year, the total number of restaurants and food businesses that been temporarily closed following health department inspections is now 73.