Grocer questions inconsistent inspections

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This article was published 20/04/2023 (875 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The owner of a Winnipeg food market was sunk by a sink — or the lack of one — and he wants to know why one provincial health inspector’s rules are different from the next.

Chihab Adin told the Free Press he spent tens of thousands of dollars on upgrades last year to get his Casablanca Food Market — a butcher shop, deli and grocery store at B-129 Marion Street — up to code after a visit from an inspector, who said nothing about needing an additional sink.

“We told the first inspector, please tell us everything which needs to be done because we don’t want to have to close it later,” Adin said.

“It cost me $50,000 for everything… but it would be hard on us to close. So he checked everything. If it wasn’t good he wouldn’t have given us the permit.”

The second inspector shut down the business March 23, citing several deficiencies that included food preparation and storage in unsanitary conditions, unclean and unrepaired premises and an inadequate supply of hot water.

Adin said he is addressing those issues, but was shocked when the second inspector told him he had to install a new sink in the food preparation area.

“I will do everything, but I don’t know why they added one more sink,” he said. “I even showed her the permit (from last year). We’ve been open for almost a year.”

“If we weren’t good, why would the other inspector have given us his approval? They should all be in the same word. It costs too much if we have to keep closing. They should have a list of the things and we will do it one time.”

A provincial government spokesperson didn’t specifically address the different post-inspection requirements, but said a hand-wash station can be ordered “when accessibility to food handlers is an issue” and that the existing station for the butcher area of the business is on the other side of the wall from the food-preparation areas.

Adin said he has already installed the new sink but he fears another health inspector will order a closure for a previously unmentioned deficiency down the road.

Other food-service establishments have been closed in recent weeks.

Deer + Almond (85 Princess St.) closed for six days starting April 6, after the discovery of a rodent infestation.

Chef and owner Mandel Hitzer, who is also the driving force behind the annual RAW:almond fine dining event on the frozen rivers at The Forks, said it’s the first time in the 11-year history of the restaurant — and his 37 years in the food business — that he has run afoul of health orders.

Other issues included unclean and unsanitized food-contact surfaces and failing to ensure food was protected from contamination.

Hitzer blamed the pest control company he hired for the rodent problem. He wouldn’t name the company, which he no longer uses.

“For a downtown restaurant, having a pest-control company we work with is a part of our routine just like (having) internet,” he said Tuesday.

“But they didn’t do their job. After Raw:almond (Jan. 26 to Feb. 18) I went away on vacation and when I came back, I don’t know if it was because they became too busy, but no one came to inspect the place — I was really let down. They set out traps where they shouldn’t have. I put trust in that company.”

Hitzer, who said the new exterminator company will make weekly visits for a few months, credited his staff with doing a large cleanup of the restaurant so it could quickly be approved by the health department and open again.

He said the current exterminator tracked down the rodents’ path from outside.

“It’s a learning experience for everyone involved,” he said.

Orlando Fcastro, owner of Cordero Pest Control, said it is essential for restaurants to receive regular visits for pest control. He said he has not seen any increased infestations at any of the commercial, institutional or residential properties serviced by his company.

“You just have to continue to do maintenance,” Fcastro said.

“We show up and, in some cases, we have to come weekly, bi-weekly and, at the very minimum, on a monthly basis. There will always have to be maintenance because you can go from no mice to 20 or 30 so fast.”

Fcastro said when exterminators begin in an establishment, workers initially place traps everywhere. Depending on results, they adjust numbers and placement.

Seafood restaurant Sea Level 100 (806 Sargent Ave.), closed for one day March 15, for various problems, including not taking effective measures to stop pests from getting in, not ensuring food-contact surfaces were washed and sanitized, having food prepared and stored in unsanitary conditions and failing to ensure the premises were clean and in good repair.

Since the beginning of the year, two restaurants have been fined in court for health violations.

The Rock N Pine House in Flin Flon was fined $701 for operating a food handling establishment with unapproved equipment or utensils, as well as failing to avoid contamination.

Lee’s Buffet in Brandon was fined a total of $984 after being convicted of failing to maintain safe internal temperatures for potentially hazardous foods and failing to make sure a mechanical dishwasher was able to sanitize dishes.

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca