A Miami bakery can’t make new food after rodent and sanitizing problems
State inspectors on Thursday halted a Miami bakery from making and serving new food, and also threatened to stop food deliveries.
That made Lakay Tropical Ice Cream & Bakery, 91 NE 54th St., a quiet place Saturday morning.
“The Stop Use Orders issued for all open food processing and all equipment and utensils will not be released until the following corrections have been made,” the inspection said. “a) The rodent infestation has been eradicated, b) chemical sanitizer is obtained, c) sanitizer test strips are obtained, and d) all equipment and utensils are properly cleaned, sanitized, and verified.”
The inspection by Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Caridad Delgado also included a warning about the re-inspection that’ll occur before Christmas Day.
“If evidence of pest infestation is observed on the next inspection, a Stop-Use Order will be issued on all receiving areas of the establishment and the establishment will no longer be allowed to receive additional food items...”
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Restaurant inspectors, who work for the Department of Business & Professional Regulation, have the power to shut down a place for a failed inspection. Inspectors, who check all grocers, food storage, food processing facilities, retail and wholesale bakeries don’t have shutdown power but can drop Stop Use Orders on equipment and areas.
And Inspector Delgado carpet bombed Tropical Ice Cream & Bakery with Stop Use and Stop Sale Orders Thursday.
“Numerous rodent droppings and rodent traps were found under reach-in coolers and throughout the establishment” and “rodent droppings found throughout the food processing area.” That’s the origin of the Stop Use Orders
In the retail area, “numerous small, flying insects were observed.”
None of the equipment, “including stainless steel bowls, cooking pots and food containers,” were sanitized after washing and rinsing. Stop Use Order for all of that.
Instead of being in a bucket of sanitizer solution, “wet wiping cloths were found on preparation tables between uses.” Maybe that’s because there was “no sanitizer solution available during the inspection.”
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A “container of tchaka stored inside the reach-in cooler was found with white, mold-like substance.” Stop Sale on the Haitian stew.
“White and black mold-like substances were found on the interior ledge and ice dispenser inside the ice machine.” Another Stop Use Order, this one on the ice machine.
A food processing employee put on gloves before washing hands.
Neither the food service area handwash sink nor the employee restroom handwash sink had anything besides water. No soap, no paper towels.
A cutting board blocked the food service area handwash sink.
A can of ketchup in the reach-in cooler was rusted. Stop Sale.
In the backroom, containers of fish mix sat open to the air. Similarly, uncovered in the food service area was a container of sugar.
Not only did the cooked fish in the reach-in cooler lack a date mark, no one seemed to know exactly when the fish became cooked fish. Stop Sale on the fish.
Also in the reach-in cooler, which should keep food at or under 41 degrees, cod fish, herring and bread patties measured 48 to 50 degrees. Stop Sales on all the food, and a Stop Use Order for the reach-in cooler with an ambient temperature of 49 to 50 degrees.
Around that cooler, there was “soil buildup and standing water on floor.” Inside the walk-in cooler there was “heavy soil buildup on the floor” and “heavy dust buildup on the fan guards.”
There was a “soil buildup on floors throughout” the food processing area.
