SPRINGFIELD, IL – A Thai restaurant known for traditional dishes on the south side of town received more than a dozen health code violations in the month of June for using Purell sanitizer for food-contact sanitation buckets against regulation.
Hello Thailand at 1213 Toronto Road had a routine health inspection by the Sangamon County Health Department on June 23. The inspection resulted in 15 violations, with five repeating from a previous visit from the department.
Along with the sanitizer, inspectors found uncovered wontons catching frost from the three-door cooler, raw bacon being stored above sauces and employees were seen handling raw chicken with gloves and not properly cleaning the gloves before moving onto other kitchen objects.
A triple violation, meaning a violation which has occurred three times in the past, the person in charge of the operation was not a certified food protection manager; an accredited class is required to handle food operation and safety.
Over the month of June, 242 inspections were carried out by the Sangamon County Department of Public Health, but only five resulted in more than 10 violations, or just over 2% of all inspections.
How violations work
Food establishments are inspected by the Sangamon County Department of Public Health on an annual schedule that is determined by assigned risk type. The risk types are high, medium, or low risk, as defined by the Illinois Food Service Sanitation Code. These are determined by the complexity of food preparation taking place at the facility. Routine inspections are conducted unannounced. Follow up and complaint inspections are conducted as needed.
Critical violations concern hygiene, food temperatures, sanitizing procedures, and cross contamination. Non-critical violations concern the maintenance and cleanliness of a facility.
Here are the Sangamon County restaurants that received 10 or more violations from the health department during the month of June.
El Cuatro Amigos
Location: 4233 W. Wabash Ave., Springfield
Date/inspection type: June 16, routine inspection
What: Inspection found 12 violations, 10 risk factor.
Notes from inspection: There was a container of cheese sauce, a container of cooked meat and a pan of cooked meat that were observed to not have any date markings on them during the inspection, which was later corrected. Other violations included no sanitizer bucket made for use in the kitchen; multiple containers of food that were observed to not have a cover on them in the double-door standing coolers and raw shelled eggs were found stored above ready to eat foods in the cooler.
Multiple instances of food stored in improper packaging was also noted by the inspector; improper storage can lead to potential contamination. There was raw meat stored directly in a grocery bag while open cans of jalapenos and tomato puree were also noted and corrected.
Almadina Halal Restaurant
Location: 3109 Chatham Road, Springfield
Date/inspection type: June 25, routine inspection
What: Inspection found 11 violations, seven risk factor.
Notes from inspection: Three containers of covered food were found stored with a date of June 18, almost 10 days old in the cooler which had to be discarded during the inspection. While noted by the inspector overall the cooler was clean and well organized, the preop-cooler had a small amount of frost accumulation building up. Other violations included no paperwork for employee health, and no food protection manager was present for morning but arrived during inspection.
Sunrise Cafe
Location: 1201 S. Second St., Springfield
Date/inspection type: June 17, routine inspection
What: Inspection found 11 violations, four risk factor.
Notes from inspection: The building itself needed maintenance and cleaning, according to the inspector who observed the door seals of the prep cooler in the kitchen to be repaired with duct tape. The wall above the mop sinks was crumbling, while grease and food splatter was found beneath the fryers and grill in the stove and kitchen. The inspector also observed a leakage and rots in the ceiling on the far end of the dry storage area by the walk-ins in the basement and multiple documents required by employees for health safety not on hand at the end of the inspection.
This inspection led to a follow up spot check on June 22, with no listed violations present.
Sharks Fish and Chicken
Location: 330 S. Grand Ave., Springfield
Date/inspection type: June 30, routine inspection
What: Inspection found 11 violations, six risk factor.
Notes from inspection: Before donning gloves to initiate a task that involves working with food, an employee changed gloves without hand washing; another was observed to wash their hands in the sink without using soap. Education was conducted and a follow up inspection has been set for July.
Other violations like raw fish being stored in a sink thawing in standing water, an open can of strawberry glaze with no covering and a dirty microwave were all corrected during the inspection.
Claire Grant writes about business, growth and development and other news topics for The State Journal-Register. She can be reached at CLGrant@usatodayco.com; and on X (Formerly known as Twitter): @Claire_Granted
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Sanitation, storage issues found in Springfield kitchens in June
Reporting by Claire Grant, Springfield State Journal-Register / State Journal-Register
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Claire Grant, Springfield State Journal-Register | USA TODAY Network
