Mouse droppings, ice machine mold and bad croquetas at a Hialeah bakery, inspection says
Flies, rodents, filthy equipment and food given a second chance were part of the story told by Wednesday’s inspection report from a Hialeah bakery.
Charitin Bakery, 1988 E. Fourth Ave., remains open because, unlike state restaurant inspections by a different state agency, Florida Department of Agriculture inspectors can’t close the establishments they inspect. But, those retail bakeries, wholesale bakeries, grocers, food processors and packaged food sellers can get hit with Stop Use Orders on areas or equipment and Stop Sale orders on food.
Here’s some of what Inspector Simeon Carrero found.
▪ “Several flies” in the food service area.
▪ Another problem in the food service area was the inspector saw the “ice machine had soil and mold-like buildup inside the ice chute.”
▪ The back room had “several containers of fillings for pastelitos” stored directly on the floor.
▪ “Old, dry mouse droppings under the cold holding unit, soil on ceiling tile, doors, shelf and walls.”
▪ The back processing area deli slicer was “soiled,” and hadn’t been cleaned at least every four hours, as required. When employees did clean the deli slicer, they washed, rinsed, then skipped the sanitation phase of the process.
▪ In the back kitchen processing area, employees were “not washing hands when donning gloves.” Then again, there were no paper towels at that handwashing sink or the cafe handwashing sink.
▪ The three-compartment sink basins had “soil buildup.”
▪ Somehow, the bakery didn’t have a staple of food safety: a food thermometer that would make sure food was cooked and stored at temperatures to prevent foodborne illnesses.
▪ Speaking of unsafe food, Inspector Carrero withheld his Stop Sale powers when he ran into food out of temperature control.
▪ Ham and chicken croquetas that needed to be at 135 degrees in hot storage measured 114 to 122. Staff was allowed to reheat them to 165 degrees for 15 seconds.
▪ Raw shell eggs sat at 58 degrees instead of at or under 41 degrees. They were allowed to be moved to better refrigeration during the inspection.
▪ Cut lettuce and cut tomatoes, measuring 53 and 54 degrees, got the same treatment.
