Topeka food inspectors find mold, cockroaches and rodent droppings

Kansas food safety and lodging inspectors found several Topeka establishments to be out of compliance with state law last month.

Kansas law delegates to the Kansas Department of Agriculture the authority to regulate food establishments, food processing plants and lodging establishments. Violations can lead to various consequences, including the immediate closure of an establishment.

Kansas Department of Agriculture records show that while most Topeka service establishments passed inspections in July with either no violations or no serious ones, several failed.

The following establishments were listed as out of compliance with state law after inspections in July.

The July 31 follow-up inspection found two violations. The hotel didn't have food thermometers or sanitizer test strips, both of which were repeat violations.

A follow-up inspection was scheduled for Sept. 14.

The July 27 complaint inspection found five violations.

The inspector noted two cross contamination issues. The cook did not change gloves or wash his hands between cracking raw eggs and grabbing hamburger condiments. In the refrigerator, there was a bag of mozzarella cheese on top of bags of raw bacon.

The restaurant also threw away lettuce, tomatoes and egg wash that had been sitting out and were too warm.

When the inspector entered the kitchen, they saw a "medium size" roach walking across the floor. Later, in the stove area, there were "large, medium and small roaches walking about," and a small roach in the dry storage area. Pest control had visited the restaurant nine times that month, including two days before the inspection.

"I also did observed a couple of Roaches affected by the Pest Control (punch drunk)," the inspector wrote, adding that there were dead roaches on the floor, the walls and on stick traps. "Back of house needs to be swept and all dead roaches removed."

A follow-up inspection was scheduled for Aug. 5.

The July 25 complaint inspection found six violations.

The inspector saw two live roaches in the office and at least seven dead roaches in the equipment of a broken cold make table. Pest control had visited twice before in July and "they are currently addressing this issue."

A butterfly shrimp came out of the fryer at 114 degrees, despite a minimum required temperature of 145 degrees. The cook then put the shrimp back in the fryer until it reached 175 degrees.

The person in charge also had to move bottles of dragon sauce that were being stored in a cooler directly below bags of raw marinating shrimp and calamari.

A follow-up inspection Aug. 4 found no violations.

The July 24 complaint inspection found six violations.

The inspector found a bag of six churros with green mold growth. The churros were dated May 5 — more than two months older than the maximum seven day limit. There was also a container of baby carrots with green mold.

A half-used bag of cooked hamburger was dated June 9, a bag of meatballs was dated July 13 and a container of macaroni and cheese had no date. The person in charge said they did not know when the mac and cheese was made, but they knew it was more than a week old.

Garden salad and spinach on the salad bar were not cool enough, and the salad bar was dirty.

All of those food items were thrown away.

The inspector also noted an worker did not wash his dirty hands after touching a door before putting on gloves to organize salad station utensils.

A follow-up inspection Aug. 4 found no violations.

The July 24 modified complaint inspection found 14 violations.

The inspector, who was accompanied by Topeka code service inspectors, visited five rooms at the motel. Two of the rooms were occupied, two others were scheduled to be cleaned and made ready to rent and the other was blocked out and scheduled for a remodel.

In one room, where an occupant has lived for two years, the toilet does not flush and "has an abundance of human excrement and toilet paper halfway filling the toilet bowl." The same occupant reported cockroaches and mice. Another room's occupant said their toilet also does not flush, and they also have cockroach and mice problems that they have tried to treat themselves.

In one restroom, the inspector saw "approximately 15-25 live cockroaches crawling in the basin of the handwashing sink, on the countertop, and in a container." The inspector noted rooms with so much trash, food debris and personal possessions that it was difficult to move around.

"These are gross and unsanitary conditions that create a harborage condition for the infestation of cockroaches," the inspector wrote. "Immediate closure is in the best interest of the health and safety of the public."

None of the five rooms had smoke detectors, all had unclean carpets and three had broken ventilations. One room had mold on the walls, ceiling, carpet and restroom floor. One room had a sagging ceiling, three had holes in the wall and one room's window did not lock.

The inspector noted issues with other areas.

"On the northside of the building under the stairwell there is a trash bag, an animal skeleton, an injection needle, part of curtain rod, and other debris," the inspector wrote of one of the other areas. "There is also a black substance covering the concrete in this area."

A follow-up inspection was scheduled for Aug. 11.

The July 19 routine inspection found three violations.

The inspector wrote that the cook cracked an egg, picked eggs shells out of the raw egg on the grill, then with raw egg on his gloves proceeded to handle the spatula. He then changed gloves, touched the spatula, then touched shredded cheese.

The inspector also noted a leaking valve under a sink and two chemical spray bottles without labeling.

A follow-up inspection Aug. 2 found no violations.

The July 18 routine inspection found two violations. Inspectors noted a baskets of bananas with broken peels and an ant infestation, as well as roaches in a cabinet. The person in charge said there was a work order to address the pest problem.

A July 29 follow-up inspection found no violations.

The July 18 routine inspection found two violations.

Inspectors noted the hose was below the flood rim of the mop sink, which risks contaminating the water supply in case of a flood. The issue was corrected on site, with the person in charge cutting the hose. Also, water for the dishwashing sink was not getting hot enough, prompting placement of a work order.

A July 29 follow-up inspection found no violations.

July 10 routine inspection found eight violations.

The inspector saw a cook change gloves, but not wash his hands, when switching from cleaning to food preparation. And while two cooks cleaned their stations, they didn't put the rags in sanitizer buckets, which meant that any bacteria was being spread across the countertop.

There were meats — turkey, hotlinks, chicken and ribs — that all needed to be reheated because they were below the minimum temperature. The inspector wrote that 165 degrees is the proper temperature for food that was cooked, cooled then reheated and was not made the same day. There were also pans with nine slabs of cooked ribs cooling on top of cases of raw beef brisket, which needed to be moved.

Among other violations was the "accumulation of Black Fuzzy Mass" that was touched by ice in the ice bin.

A July 24 follow-up inspection found no violations.

The inspector noted "greater than 40 fresh and old rodent droppings" during a July 7 modified complaint inspection that found six violations. Dropping locations included under the lobby drink station, on the floor near the Icee machine and inside the framing of the Icee machine door.

Rodents had chewed through spray foam that had been used to plug two holes in an entryway frame. While mass trap boxes had caught four dead rodents, the rodents had not been removed.

The restaurant was cited for failing to cease operations and notify officials "of the imminent health hazard of mouse infestation." The operator agreed to voluntarily close.

The restaurant was back in compliance after a July 17 follow-up inspection found no violations.

The inspector found "greater than 100 fresh and old rodent droppings," including some in the lobby and under the drink station, during a July 6 modified complaint inspection with four violations. There were also "greater than 20 winged insects." Overgrown brush outside was reported as a possible harborage area for pests, with two holes in the building that could have been the entry point.

The restaurant was back in compliance after a July 17 follow-up inspection that found two violations.

The July 6 routine inspection found two violations, both connected a hot water issue. While water needs to reach a minimum of 110 degrees for washing dirty dishes and 100 degrees for hand washing, the hottest the water got was 74 degrees.

The inspector asked the person in charge to voluntarily close until they fixed the problem. The establishment was back in compliance after a July 7 reopening inspection found no violations.

The restaurant failed inspections on July 5 and July 6 following up on a cockroach infestation discovered in June.

Inspectors found no violations and the restaurant was in compliance after a July 17 follow-up inspection.

The following service establishments were in compliance when inspectors visited in July.

Jason Alatidd is a statehouse reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached by email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @Jason_Alatidd.