Restaurants in (not so) hot water

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This article was published 06/01/2015 (3901 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Map shows restaurant offences reported in Manitoba Health's Health Protection Report in 2014.

When you decide not to cook dinner and go to a restaurant, the last thing you want on the menu is somebody else’s cold germs.

Mike LeBlanc, Manitoba Health’s chief public health inspector, said it’s one reason why when inspectors fan out across Winnipeg and the province to check out the more than 9,000 eating establishments, one of the items on their checklist is whether the dishwasher is heating and sanitizing properly.

“They need to get at least to 71 C — 65 or 68 might not be killing cold or flu viruses on the edge of a glass, so they have to be 71 C,” LeBlanc said.

“And as for sanitizing, they can get chlorine test strips, but many times restaurants don’t use them. But for cases we find, it may just be bad luck on their part that it stopped working a day or two before we got there.”

Two restaurants were closed temporarily in the second half of 2014 by health inspectors because their dishwashers weren’t functioning properly.

They’re just two of the 15 restaurants that were closed for health violations since the last health-protection report was issued in June. In total, 24 restaurants were temporarily closed during the year for health violations.

Another nine restaurants were also closed during the year by provincial health inspectors, but for reasons outside their control, including fire and flood damage.

“We’re there to keep an eye open for the public because they are not allowed into the back kitchen,” LeBlanc said, noting Manitoba restaurants are healthy places to eat when you consider how many thousands of restaurants there are and how few are shuttered because of health violations.

“They are doing fine,” he said.

“We are out there looking for things and protecting the public’s health, between what we do and the diligence of the restaurant community.”

Closures since June

• John Blumberg Golf Course, 4540 Portage Ave., June 26, operated food service with no running water.
• Peg City Dawgs, 1406 Notre Dame Ave., June 26, accumulated food debris on utensils, as well as inside and outside the unit.
• Extreme Dog, mobile push cart, June 26, failed to keep hand-washing facilities in good repair.
• Loveable Hotdogs and Smokies, mobile push cart, June 26, failed to keep handwashing facilities in good repair.
• Peg City Dawgs, 1406 Notre Dame Ave., Aug. 14, failed to keep mobile vending unit clean.
• Pizza Shack, 589 Sargent Ave., Aug. 14, general sanitation, temperature abuse and didn’t take effective action to stop entry of pests.
• Summer Palace Chinese Restaurant, 1755 Pembina Hwy., Aug. 21, insanitary conditions and dishwasher failed to sanitize dishes.
• Miso Japanese Cuisine, B-667 Stafford St., Aug. 27, dishwasher failed to sanitize dishes and three-compartment sink not equipped for proper dishwashing.
• Grass Fed Grill, Memorial Blvd., Sept. 5, not enough hot water on the truck for cleaning purposes.
• Giant Pizza, 6-794 Sargent Ave., Sept. 10, storing and preparing food in insanitary conditions.
• New Host Restaurant, 1364 Main St., Oct. 6, rodent infestation and filthy conditions.
• India Spice House, 3-1875 Pembina Hwy., Oct. 8, maintained in a manner that adversely affects sanitary conditions.
• Baker Bros. on the Mound, 132 Broadway Ave., Pilot Mound, Nov. 7, operating without a permit.
• Great World Restaurant, 1779 Portage Ave., Nov. 14, mouse infestation.
• South Ocean Restaurant, 141 Scurfield Blvd., Dec. 4, maintained in a manner that adversely affects sanitary conditions.

— Manitoba Health’s Health Protection Report

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca