Why did a Miami-Dade Publix fail inspection? Meat trays dirtied before use was one reason
Hot water, handwashing and general cleanliness violations led to South Miami-Dade Publix store failing state inspection Friday.
The Publix in The Shoppes at Quail Roost, 20201 SW 127th Ave., received a “Re-Inspection Required” result after Friday’s visit by Florida Department of Agriculture Inspector Catalina Ordonez. Restaurants get shut down when they fail Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation inspection, but Ag Department inspectors can only shut down areas of the packaged food handlers, bakeries, food storage and distribution facilities in inspects.
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And, Inspector Ordonez had to use her Stop-Use Order powers Friday. Here’s some of what she found, some of which was corrected at the moment:
▪ In the meat department, unused “foam meat trays encrusted with dry meat and blood residue placed on shelving unit next to the walk-in cooler.” Ordonez put a Stop-Use Order on the meat trays, which were thrown out.
▪ Dry meat and blood dirtied the unused meat trays because they weren’t “kept in the original protective package.”
▪ In the seafood area, a “food employee did not wash his/her hands between entering and exiting the food preparation area, after touching face and handling food items and utensils.”
▪ Also, in the seafood area, Ordonez spotted a violation described as “...the hot water generation and distribution system is not sufficient to meet peak hot water demands throughout the establishment.”
What she saw was that there was “no hot water available immediately at handwash sink located next to ware wash sink while the meat department is actively cleaning all the equipment even though the water heater is working...”
▪ That ware wash sink “was found to leak constantly from the base.”
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▪ You don’t expect Publix to have produce kept at unsafe temperatures, but packs of salads of leafy greens, cut lettuce salad and cut coleslaw salads all were too warm in the walk-in cooler.
▪ In the deli area, the spray bottles of Sani Save sanitizer used to clean the slicers weren’t diluted enough and had a concentration over 400 parts per million.
A re-inspection will be done on or before April 19.
