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The following are recent Lackawanna County restaurant inspection reports from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. According to the agency: “any inspection is a ‘snapshot’ of the day and time of the inspection. An inspection conducted on any given day may not be representative of the overall, long-term cleanliness of an establishment. Also, at the time of the inspection, violations are recorded but are often corrected on site prior to the inspector leaving the establishment.” The information is taken from the inspection database at www.eatsafepa.com. Postal addresses used here are as listed on the state’s website, and may not correspond to the municipalities in the which facilities are physically located.
Ben-Mar Restaurant, Inc., 89 N. Main St., Carbondale, Sept 18. Regular inspection; in compliance. Violations: Loose rubber door gaskets observed on the Jordan refrigerated unit. Walk-in cooler door is deteriorated and in need of repair. Walk-in cooler fan guards, a non-food contact surface, not cleaned at a frequency to preclude accumulation of soil. Women’s toilet room is not provided with a covered waste receptacle for sanitary napkins. Ceiling in the ware-washing area is cracked/roughened and is not a smooth, easily cleanable surface.
Metz & Associates, LTD, Scranton Preparatory School, 1000 Wyoming Ave., Scranton, Sept 18. Regular inspection; in compliance.
Putter’s Pub, 1099 Golf Club Road, Jefferson Township, Sept. 18. Follow-up inspection; in compliance. Violations: There is no certified food handler employed in the facility. The manager stated that he is scheduled to take the course Oct. 13 and shall fax a copy to the Pa. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety, 570-836-6266, Attn: R. Kilanowski. Food employees observed in the kitchen not wearing a proper hair restraint, such as net or hat. A hat was donned. New residential type dishwasher has been installed in the facility for glassware washing. The specifications indicate that the final rinse temperature is 155°F, shall be 160°F or above. Temp-Rite strip in machine indicates final rinse below 160°F. Glasses shall be manually cleaned and sanitized in the three-bay sink, or use plastic or paper, until the machine has a final rinse of 160°F or above. Old food residue on the blade, frame and housing of the meat slicer on the prep table shelf. The slicer was disassembled and cleaned.
Ritter’s Cider Mill, 117 Wimmers Road, Jefferson Township, Sept. 18. Regular inspection; in compliance. Violations: Hand sanitizers, chemicals are stored intermingled and above food items on the storage shelf. The hand sanitizers and chemicals were stored on the bottom shelf separately from the food storage. A package of raw ground beef is stored above pie filling in the two-door refrigerator. The ground beef was placed on the bottom shelf. Food facility does not have available chlorine sanitizer test strips to determine appropriate sanitizer concentration. Rust on the elevator and hopper, paint peeling in the hopper for the apple press. Corrections will be made after the season, as per the owner.
Mill City Elementary School, 1113 Buttermilk Road, Dalton, Sept. 21. Regular inspection; in compliance. Violation: Hamburgers were held at 98 and 110°F, in the steam table area, rather than 135°F or above as required. The hamburgers were re-heated prior to service during this inspection.
North Pocono Beverage, 479 Daleville Highway, Covington Township, Sept 21. Regular inspection; in compliance.
O’Donnell’s Food & Spirits, 397 State Route 435, Clifton Township, Sept 21. Regular inspection; in compliance.
Paul’s Place, 714 Main St., Simpson, Sept 21. Regular inspection; in compliance. Violations: Temperature measuring device for ensuring proper temperature of equipment is not available or readily accessible in refrigerated equipment. Wash compartment of the manual ware-wash equipment contained dirty wash water. Non-food contact surfaces not cleaned at a frequency to preclude accumulation of dirt and soil. No sign or poster posted at the hand-wash sink in the restroom area to remind food employees to wash their hands. Bar area of the food facility is dirty, dusty and in need of cleaning. Toilet room ceiling is in disrepair.
Schultzville Deli, 1309 Winola Road, Clarks Summit, Sept 21. Regular inspection; in compliance. Violations: Food employees observed in prep area not wearing proper hair restraints, such as nets, hats. Temperature measuring device for ensuring proper temperature of equipment is not available or readily accessible in kitchen refrigerator. Food facility does not have available sanitizer test strips or test kit to determine appropriate sanitizer concentration. French fry cutter, a food contact surface, was observed to have food residue and was not clean to sight and touch. The cutter was cleaned during this inspection. Food facility is using an approved non-public water system, but does not have current laboratory testing results for water potability. Owner to e-mail or fax results to Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture regional office.
Red Robin #337, 1235 Commerce Boulevard, Dickson City, Sept 22. Regular inspection; in compliance.
Taylor Exxon, 527 N. Main St., Taylor, Sept 22. Regular inspection; in compliance. Violations: Commercially processed refrigerated, ready-to-eat, time/temperature control for safety food (deli meats, salads), located in the prep refrigerator, and held more than 24 hours, is not being marked with the date it was opened. All commercially prepared foods will be dated once opened. Commercially processed tuna salad and egg salad, refrigerated, ready-to-eat time/temperature control for safety food in the prep refrigerator was beyond the sell by dates of Sept. 19 and Sept. 18 and requires discarding. The salads were discarded along with seven hoagies that were made using those salads. The food facility does not maintain Food Employee Certification records as required. The food facility does not have the original certificate for the certified food employee posted in public view. Prepackaged hoagies are not labeled properly with “distributed-by” statement. Prepackaged hoagies are not labeled to clearly indicate any “Big 8” allergen ingredients and/or the allergen warning statement. Paper towel dispenser empty at the hand-wash sink in the restroom area. Paper towels were placed at the sink during this inspection.
William Hopkins Post #570, 400 2nd St., Blakely, Sept 22. Regular inspection; in compliance. Violation: Spray bottles in kitchen sink area, used for storing chemicals taken from bulk supplies, were not marked with the common name of the chemical. The chemicals were identified and the bottles were labeled.
A&M Beverage, 1990 Scranton/Carbondale Highway, Blakely, Sept 23. Regular inspection; in compliance.
Foliage Chinese Restaurant, 43-45 7th Ave., Carbondale, Sept 23. Follow-up inspection; in compliance. Violations: Observed grease debris accumulated on the ground outside storage area. Old unused equipment stored outside the rear side area, should be removed from the facility property.
Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, 831 Northern Boulevard, Clarks Summit, Sept 23. Regular inspection; in compliance. Violations: The food facility does not have the original certificate for the certified food employee posted in public view. Non-food contact surfaces (fan guards in walk-in cooler) not cleaned at a frequency to preclude accumulation of dust.
Roba’s Treet Farm-Orchard Café, 1649 Lakeland Drive, Jermyn, Sept.23. Opening inspection; in compliance
Russen’s Sports Bar, 201 River St., Olyphant, Sept 23. Complaint inspection; in compliance. Violations: Food facility has an employee that has taken food safety training program; however, the food safety program was not an ANSI/CFP accredited Certified Food Manager program. The manager took a Food Safety essentials class online in July 2015. Reviewed acceptable courses during this inspection. Manager to provide proof of registration for a course within five days. Ketchup, salad dressings were held at 45-50°F in the commercial reach in refrigerator area rather than 41°F or below as required. All items were moved to the walk-in cooler during this inspection. Hood filters have an accumulation of grease. Ambient air temperature of the commercial reach-in refrigerator was noted at 56°F during this inspection. All foods were moved to the walk-in cooler during this inspection. The unit was shut off and will remain out of use until it can be serviced. Observed three to four fruit flies in the bar area near the containers for empty cans and bottles. The containers were emptied and rinsed with bleach and the fruit flies were removed during this inspection.
