Complaint inspection: Springfield restaurant employee not handling raw meat safely

During an Aug. 7 complaint inspection, a Springfield-Greene County Health Department restaurant inspector noted a Springfield restaurant employee handling raw hamburger meat and then handling a cooked burger without washing their hands, according to the report.

An inspector cited Red's Giant Hamburg, 2301 W. Sunshine St., for an employee handling raw hamburger and then cooked hamburger without washing their hands, as well as for an employee not washing their hands for the required time. Both violations were resolved on-site with education.

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.

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Issues found during inspection 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.

Last week's food inspections: Two Greene Co. restaurants cited for not washing hands, handling food properly

Here are food inspections from the past week:

Arby's Roast Beef Restaurant No. 7725, 1833 W. Republic Road, Springfield. Aug. 8 routine inspection – Result: active. No priority violations. One non-priority violation: Observed employee on line handing packaged sliced meat did not have effective hair restraint on, which was corrected on-site when employee put on hair net.

Big Whiskey's American Bar & Grill No. 3, 1440 W. Republic Road, Springfield. Aug. 7 routine inspection – Result: active. One priority violation: Observed several ladles and utensils stored dirty on utensil rack, tongs stored on fryer door handles and oven handle, which was corrected by washing, rinsing and sanitizing items. Manager agrees to used clean and sanitized pan to store working tongs. One non-priority violation: Observed cutting boards on prep coolers and steam table are scored, no longer smooth and easily cleanable.

Burger King, 935 W. Kearney St., Springfield. Aug. 7 routine inspection – Result: active. No priority violations. One non-priority violation: Observed area behind nozzle of customer soda machine is dirty, education given.

China King of Springfield, LLC, 2123 W. Republic Road, Springfield. Aug. 8 routine inspection – Result: permitted with re-inspection. One priority violation: Observed prep cooler holding potentially hazardous food items at 42 degrees Fahrenheit to 44 degrees Fahrenheit, owner had placed call to repair company previously and is not storing food in unit at night. No non-priority violations.

Chipotle Mexican Grill No. 1050, 3356 S. Campbell Ave., Springfield. Aug. 4 routine inspection – Result: active. No violations cited.

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Comfort Inn & Suites, 2815 N. Glenstone Ave., Springfield. Aug. 3 routine inspection – Result: active. No violations cited.

Culvers Frozen Custard, 2520 N. Glenstone Ave., Springfield. Aug. 7 routine inspection – Result: active. No priority violations. One non-priority violation: Observed residue/build-up inside the ice machine.

Golden Cuisine, 1520 W. Battlefield Road, Springfield. Aug. 9 routine inspection – Result: active. No violations observed at time of inspection.

Golden Palace, 1313 W. Kearney St., Springfield. Aug. 7 routine inspection – Result: active. One priority violation: Observed potentially hazardous food stored above pre-cooked and ready-to-eat foods, education was given and violation corrected. Five non-priority violations: Observed wiping cloths laying on counter outside of sanitizer, education given; observed door handles to kitchen and door handles on fridges were dirty, which was repeat violation and education given; observed soda nozzles on soda machine were dirty, which is a repeat violation and education given; observed inside of ice machine chute was dirty, education given; observed boxes of raw chicken stored on the floor of walk-in cooler, education given.

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Haruno Japanese Sushi Bar & Grill, 3044 S. Fremont Ave., Springfield. Aug. 7 routine inspection – Result: permitted with re-inspection Three priority violations: Observed unapproved employee drink bottle being stored with food in reach-in cooler, which was removed and education provided; observed knives being stored unclean on knife holder in kitchen, which were pulled from service to be properly cleaned; observed lettuce measuring at 48 degrees in reach-in cooler when required to be held at 41 degrees or below, lettuce was discarded and re-inspection will be performed to check cooler. No non-priority violations.

Hy-Vee - Bakery/Retail, 1720 W. Battlefield Road, Springfield. Aug. 7 re-inspection – Result: active. Priority items corrected: Open-case cooler B15 now holding at 41 degrees as required; bakery scale has been ordered. No violations cited.

Hy-Vee Convenience Store, 1720 W. Battlefield Road, Springfield. Aug. 7 re-inspection – Result: active. Priority item corrected: Open case grab-and-go cooler now holding below 41 degrees as required. No violations cited.

Kai After Dark, 306 S. Campbell Ave., Springfield. Aug. 8 re-inspection – Result: active. All previous cold-holding violations have been corrected. No violations cited.

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KJ Brewskies, 2216 N. Packer Road, Springfield. Aug. 7 routine inspection – Result: active. No violations cited.

Kum & Go No. 2401, 2150 S. Glenstone Ave., Springfield. Aug. 7 routine inspection – Result: active. No violations cited at time of inspection.

La Quinta Inn & Suites, 2445 N. Airport Plaza Ave., Springfield. Aug. 3 routine inspection – Result: active. No violations cited.

Lae's Authentic Egg Rolls, 177 W. Heritage Court, Fair Grove. Aug. 4 routine inspection – Result: active. No violations noted at time of inspection at Ozark Empire Fair.

Panera Bread, 4100 S. Campbell Ave., Springfield. Aug. 7 routine inspection – Result: active. No priority violations. One non-priority violation: Observed unapproved employee drink in food preparation area, drink was removed and education was provided.

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Panera Bread, 2535 N. Kansas Expressway, Springfield. Aug. 7 routine inspection – Result: active. No priority violation. Four non-priority violations: Observed several stacks of cups at self-service and front counter without a plastic sleeve or cup dispenser, which could lead to cups being contaminated and is a repeat violation; observed dish machine was out of detergent when inspector arrived, and container was promptly changed at inspector's request; observed faucet at two-vat sink sprays water all over when turned on and hot water was shut off due to a leak; observed counter around self-service soda dispenser was sticky from spilled drinks.

Plaza Mexico, 4249 W. Chestnut Expressway, Springfield. Aug. 3 routine inspection – Result: permitted with re-inspection. A reinspection will be made on or after Aug, 8 to check the priority and designated core violations for correction. Discussed that personal food items must be labeled, if kept with food used for customers. Also the cardboard on shelves of walk-in refrigerator should be removed to allow for better airflow. One priority violation: Observed a few flats of raw shell eggs on shelf above onions and peppers, and onions and peppers were moved so they were not below any raw animal foods. Four non-priority violations: Observed staff unable to find chlorine tester strips for checking sanitizer; observed containers with partially cooked beef and chicken that were held using time as a control, but nothing was documented; observed four-vat sink in bar area draining slowly; observed toilet in back of women's restroom was not operational.

Plaza Mexico, 4249 W. Chestnut Expressway, Springfield. Aug. 9 re-inspection – Result: active. All violations had been corrected except for the chlorine strips, which had been ordered but not yet received. No violations cited.

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Qdoba Mexican Grill, 4127 S. Kansas Expressway, Springfield. Aug. 7 complaint inspection – Result: active. No priority violations. One non-priority violation: Observed front-of-house employee preparing bowls and wraps without hair net on. Manager agrees to provide hair nets or other effective hair restraint to employees handling food items.

Red's Giant Hamburg Inc., 2301 W. Sunshine St., Springfield. Aug. 7 complaint inspection – Result: active. Made an on-site visit and spoke with manager Emily Carmody. Inspector observed the burger cooking procedures and cited them for handling raw hamburger and then handling a cooked burger, not washing hands between glove changes and improper hand-washing procedures. Raw hamburgers in the drawer cooler were at 36F and the walk-in was cold holding at 40F. Gave education on handling procedures. Two priority violations: Observed employee handled raw hamburger and did not wash hands before handling a cooked hamburger, which was corrected at time of inspection and education given; observed employee did not wash hands for required amount of time, which was corrected at time of inspection with education. No non-priority violations.

Ruby Tuesday No. 7888, 2725 N. Glenstone Ave., Springfield. Aug. 8 routine inspection – Result: active. Two priority violations: Observed can opener blade was dirty, education given and corrected on site; observed vegetable slicers and dicers on storage shelf were dirty, education given and corrected on site. One non-priority violation: Observed bar soda gun was dirty, education given.

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Sam's Southern Eatery 2, 2259 S. Campbell Ave., Springfield. Aug 8 second compliance check – Result: in compliance. No violations on last risk control plan follow-up inspection. Facility has been removed from risk control plan.

Schlotzsky's, 4132 S. Campbell Ave., Springfield. Aug. 4 routine inspection – Result: active. No violations cited.

Schultz & Dooley's, 2210 W. Chesterfield Blvd., Springfield. Aug. 9 re-inspection – Result: active. Priority items corrected: 1. Fly sticks have been moved to locations where they are not above food, food contact surfaces, single-service items, etc. 2. Flies and gnats have been minimized; soiled towel container is now located outside which was a source of the issue. No priority violations. Two non-priority violations: Observed some progress has been made on cleaning walk-in floors and main walkway in kitchen, however there is still build-up of food debris and grease in southwest corner of kitchen under shelving and equipment, fryers, and manager has printed out cleaning schedule for staff to follow; observed vent hood and filters have grease build-up, manager stated the hood-cleaning company was scheduled for last week, but is behind schedule and agrees to follow up.

Smokin' Bob's BBQ, 2100 W. Republic Road, Springfield. Aug. 9 routine inspection – Result: active. No violations observed at time of inspection.

Sonic Drive-In, 2935 E. Sunshine St., Springfield. Aug. 9 routine inspection – Result: active. One priority violation: Observed food storage containers were stored unclean. One non-priority violation: Observed build-up of food residue and other debris on non-food contact surfaces.

Umi Japanese Restaurant, Inc., 3046 S. Kimbrough Ave., Springfield. Aug. 3 routine inspection – Result: active. No violations cited.

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USA Investments MO 26, 5505 S. State Highway FF, Battlefield. Aug. 9 routine inspection – Result: active. Core item corrected from last routine inspection: Floor has been resurfaced and painted in back dish room under hand-sink. One priority violation: Observed pre-packaged sandwiches in cooler with no use-by date, manager stated sandwiches were thawed Aug. 8. Corrected by placing use-by date on sandwiches. No non-priority violations.

Walmart No. 0138 - Deli, 1923 E. Kearney St., Springfield. Aug. 7 routine inspection – Result: active. No violations cited during inspection.

Whataburger No. 1332, 1355 E. U.S. Highway 60 East, Republic. Aug. 8 routine inspection – Result: permitted with re-inspection. Discussed discarding time-control foods at discard time. One priority violation: Observed foods at temperatures above 41 degrees, such as cheese at 42 degrees and 46 degrees under-counter cooler. One non-priority violation: Observed boxes of foam cups stored on floor in storage area, which was corrected at time of inspection.

Whiskey Tango, 1111 E. Republic Road, Springfield. Aug. 3 routine inspection – Result: active. One priority violation: Observed dish machine not properly sanitizing due to sanitizer supply container being empty, which was changed out at time of inspection. No non-priority violations.

Susan Szuch is the health and public policy reporter for the Springfield News-Leader. Follow her on Twitter @szuchsm. Story idea? Email her at sszuch@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Complaint inspection cites food handling at Springfield restaurant