HOUSTON – Houston health inspectors investigating a customer illness complaint after eating Mama Tina’s Gumbo at the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo found thawed seafood labeled “keep frozen” and learned the gumbo had been moved to a freezer at an unlicensed off-site location without temperature logs before being served, according to Houston Health Department records obtained by KPRC 2 News.
The complaint, received March 16, described a customer who said she ate gumbo in the afternoon and later developed symptoms including vomiting, chills, nausea and fever, the records show. The customer also reported she was “throwing up blood,” according to the complaint.
What inspectors found
Health department investigators responded to the pop-up shop, featuring Beyonce’s mothers’ cherished family recipe, on Monday, March 16.
Inspectors learned the gumbo had been prepared at an off-site location where it was cooled, placed into non-food grade orange buckets and taken to a freezer at an unlicensed location, records show. The frozen gumbo then got taken to a refrigerated trailer at the rodeo where it was kept to thaw before being served.
But operators of Mama Tina’s didn’t have any temperature logs showing the cooling or storing time, and the inspector “observed bags of frozen shrimp and crab with a label that stated ‘keep frozen.’”
All of the food no longer in its frozen state had to be discarded, the inspector wrote.
Inspectors said the following reasons led to all of the prepared gumbo being discarded:
Food being stored inside of non-food grade containers that may contaminate food
Food being stored inside of an unpermitted facility, then transported for service from the unapproved source
Food source used after the first day of the rodeo was not listed on the approved permit application
No documentation showing proper cooling temperatures and times for foods
No date marking for food prepared more than 24 hours prior
Frozen food not kept frozen
After all the findings, inspectors said they educated the operators on corrective action, including rapid cooling methods, datemarking instructions, and proper thawing methods.
“Operators were very cooperative and asked questions about how to gain compliance with the department. Operators stated that they will cease food preparation at an off-site facility and only prepared foods on-site, pending department’s approval of the new permit application,” the records state.
Cleared to reopen
Inspectors returned on Tuesday, March 17, to perform a pre-opening inspection.
Mama Tina’s Gumbo had swapped out a refrigerated trailer for a freezer trailer and all food stored inside was frozen solid, according to records, and the preparation of gumbo shifted to be made on-site daily in the morning before serving.
“Operator confirmed that there will be no comingling of previously cooked/cooled/reheated product and the freshly made product,” the records state.
Mama Tina’s was cleared to re-open on that Tuesday afternoon, according to the Houston Health Department.
It’s unclear if the department received any additional complaints about any possibly connected illnesses.
KPRC 2 News has reached out to a representative for Mama Tina’s Gumbo for a response.
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