Inspectors find fruit with mold, unsafe empanadas and pastelitos at a Miami-Dade grocery
The first violation listed on a North Miami Beach grocery store’s state inspection: “A pattern of non-compliance was observed as evidence by violations for improper hand washing, hot & cold holding temperatures, sanitization.”
What followed explained why Mr. Fresh Farmer’s Market, 13601 Biscayne Blvd., failed Florida Department of Agriculture inspection.
Unlike state restaurant inspectors, Ag Department Inspectors Francis Odio and Caridad Delgado didn’t have the power to shut down Mr. Fresh, where some of the fruit didn’t look so fresh. Their powers do include Stop Sale orders on food and Stop Use Orders that can be applied to equipment and areas.
And they were forced to wield those powers on Thursday’s visit.
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▪ Out in the retail area, “raspberries stored inside the reach-in cooler by the juice bar found with white, mold-like substances.” Stop Sales on the raspberries.
▪ In the backroom, “white and black mold-like substances were found on the interior ledge and ice dispenser inside the ice machine.”
▪ The kitchen area crew washed and rinsed plastic containers, a cutting board and utensils, then put them to air dry. None of the above got sanitized.
▪ “Fruit flies were observed throughout all the food processing areas” in the backroom, kitchen and juice bar.
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▪ Pots and pans blocked the kitchen area handwash sink. Empty plastic containers did the same in the food service area handwash sink.
▪ In the hot box unit, chicken empanadas, guava and cheese pastelitos, cheese tequenos, steamed vegetables and a baked sweet potato had internal temperatures between 78 and 107 degrees. They needed to be 135 degrees for safe keeping. A shower of Stop Sales put all in the garbage.
▪ At the dessert reach-in cooler, rice pudding and vanilla pudding measured 47 to 52 degrees. In the backroom, cooked beans and carne con papas from the previous day measured 43 to 45 degrees despite being in the walk-in cooler. Stop Sales hit all. Tossed.
▪ Ambient air thermometers weren’t available in the reach-in cooler or the hot box unit and dessert reach-in cooler.
▪ The hot box unit and the reach-in dessert cooler got their worthlessness confirmed when the inspectors put Stop Use Orders on each.
▪ In the food service, juice bar and kitchen areas, “multiple wet wiping cloths were found on preparation tables and shelves throughout the processing areas” when they should have been in sanitizer solution between uses.
▪ There was an “accumulation of soil” inside the reach-in cooler next to the reach-in freezer.
▪ In the food service area, the “steam table unit is draining into a bucket.” The store has 30 days to install a “proper draining system.”
This story was originally published December 10, 2024 at 1:19 PM.
