Throughout the past year, a number of dining establishments frequented by University students and other community members have been cited for health code violations.
Jeff McDaniel, environmental health manager for the Thomas Jefferson Health District, said commonwealth health inspectors show up unannounced at restaurants to get a genuine idea of day-to-day operations and procedures. The violations inspectors issue are categorized as either critical or non-critical violations, he said.
According to the Virginia Department of Health Web site, a non-critical violation is one “not directly related to the cause of food-borne illness, but if uncorrected, could impede the operation of the restaurant.” The Web site also states that “non-critical violations, if left uncorrected, could lead to critical violations.”
McDaniel said dirty walls or floors in an establishment are examples of non-critical violations, which are given so a situation can be rectified before a critical violation develops.
The Department of Health Web site defines critical violations as those that are not immediately related to the cause of food-borne illnesses but “if left uncorrected, are more likely than other violations to directly contribute to food contamination, illness, or environmental degradation.”
Storage of food at an incorrect temperature is an example of a critical violation, McDaniel said, adding that “some [critical violations] are much more risky than others.”
When violations are issued, the operators of an establishment receive a letter stating that they must correct the given problem and that inspectors will be back again in 19 days to check, he noted.
“If the problems continue, then we have several enforcement actions that we can take that end up in suspension of the restaurant’s permit,” McDaniel said. “We’ll suspend them until they can get it corrected. Whenever we see restaurants with several repeat violations, it’s apparent to us the management is not taking control of the violation.”
In Charlottesville, violations have been issued for a number of restaurants and other dining facilities.
Newcomb Hall received two critical and five non-critical violations during its last inspection in September, according to the Virginia Department of Health Web site, but Observatory Hill Residential dining hall received no critical or non-critical violations in its last inspection in July.
University Dining Director Brent Beringer said the University conducts daily sanitization checks and also hires a third-party firm to examine the establishments once a month. Regarding the higher number of violations at Newcomb Hall, Beringer noted that the inspections serve only as a single-day snapshot and that the University strives for cleanliness at all dining locations. He added, however, that Observatory Hill’s newer facilities may help account for the difference in violations.
Beringer added that the University takes violations seriously and aims to deal with them quickly and effectively.
Establishments on the Corner, meanwhile, also try to ensure violations are taken care of as quickly as possible.
Critical violations were found at recently opened Boylan Heights Sept. 25 regarding improper cooling temperatures.
“One of our sauces was two degrees too warm — bean salsa,” owner J.R. Hadley said. He added that, because the restaurant recently opened, the health inspector comes once a month. Closer to Central Grounds, Little John’s New York Delicatessen received six critical and six non-critical violations in May. Little John’s owner Chris Strong said his restaurant is responsive to issued violations. When Little John’s has received violations in the past, Strong said, the restaurant was usually able to fix the problems in a relatively quick fashion.
“We are highly trained and ServSafe certified,” Strong said. ServSafe training is done to guarantee that personnel have received food safety training regarding general sanitation practices and specifics, such as the safe temperatures at which to prepare foods.
“We take food safety very seriously,” Strong said. “We’ve never had a food safety problem with an employee or a customer, with someone getting sick from Little John’s food, and that’s for 33 years. We’re proud of that record.”
Christian’s Pizza on 14th Street received six critical violations and three non-critical violations during an Oct. 8 inspection. The restaurant received two of its critical violations for having “different types of raw animal foods stored in such a manner that may cause cross contamination” and for having pizza out that was “not labeled or otherwise marked with a four-hour cook, serve, or discard by time.” Nearby Arch’s Frozen Yogurt on 14th Street, meanwhile, had more violations. According to the Virginia Health Department Web site, Arch’s on 14th Street received five critical and seven non-critical violations during its most recent inspection in June. Managers of Arch’s and Christian’s were unavailable for comment as of press time.
Other Charlottesville restaurants served with at least one critical health code violation during their most recent inspection include Asian Express, The College Inn Restaurant, Marco and Luca’s Noodle Shop, Mellow Mushroom, Michael’s Bistro and Tap House, Sakura Sushi & Noodle, Splendora’s Gelato Cafe, The Virginian, Waffle House and Yuan Ho, among others. Coffee shops, McDaniel said, are inspected less frequently because of a perceived lower potential for violations.
McDaniel also explained that inspections are performed so that proprietors and employees know how to prevent future violations and potential safety risks — not to scare away potential diners or threaten restaurants.
“When we’re able to work effectively with restaurant management to identify risk areas and to ensure that they put controls in place to minimize those risks, we can really apply additional protection to the public,” McDaniel said. “Our goal is to protect the people eating at the restaurant; we really count on operators to learn and understand and apply the health rules while we’re not there — because they’re there all the time. The more we can get that out there the better off we’ll be.”
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