By DON DARE
Food for Thought Reporter
KNOXVILLE (WATE) - Two restaurants had trouble keeping food at safe temperatures when Knox County health inspectors visited.
The state Department of Health has ordered county restaurant inspectors to pay close attention to food temperatures. Some of the foods that favor rapid bacterial growth include meat, seafood, poultry, eggs and dairy products.
To maintain safety, foods have to be kept at proper temperatures.
Low score:
Panda Garden at 2423 Callahan Drive - Grade: 67
The health department considers a grade below 70 as unsanitary.
The inspector found chicken at 77 degrees where it sat on a counter. One hundred forty degrees is the proper holding temperature so no one gets sick. The chicken was thrown away.
In the walk-in cooler, beef, chicken and shrimp were not at the proper temperatures either.
The inspector found an open drink cup on a food preparation table. It needed a lid on it to prevent the drink from possibly spilling onto food.
A sink where kitchen workers wash their hands was blocked.
Passing but problems:
Mandarin House at 314 Merchants Road - Grade: 72
There are critical violations worth noting.
The inspector found potato salad was out of temperature. The problem was solved on the spot, but the manager threw out the potato salad.
When the inspector checked the temperature of the dishwasher's sanitary rinse, it read 159 degrees. One hundred sixty-five degrees is the proper temperature.
The inspector saw an employee at the dishwasher clean out the dirty food catch basin, then put away clean utensils without washing his hands.
Access to an employee hand sink was blocked here as well.
Top scores:
Sweet Frog at 10901 Parkside Drive - 98
Barnes & Noble Bookstore cafe, 8029 Kingston Pike - 97
Subway at 3708 Chapman Highway - 96
All Spice Cafe at Fort Sanders Medical Center, 1901 Clinch Avenue - 95
HottRods at 2909 Alcoa Highway - 94
Snappy Tomato at 2806 Schaad Road - 94
Sonic at 10704 Kingston Pike - 92
E.B.'s Eats & Treats at 4620 Mill Branch Lane - 92
Fortress Cafe at Fort Sanders West Medical Complex - 90
Inspectors check 46 items during an inspection. That's a lot for managers to keep up with and six of them did a great job in these inspections.
