Moldy food, bad croquetas among the reasons a Miami mini-mart got fined $5,000
Poor food safety at a Miami-Dade gas station’s mini-mart/restaurant led to pastelitos, croquetas, empanadas, black beans getting thrown out and the station owner getting fined $5,000.
The fine from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services came down in December, more than a year after the Nov. 20, 2024, inspection of the Westar at 6776 SW 117th Ave. In that time, the station was sold by Nausa Service Center, run by president Aziz Darediya, to Jonalca USA, run by managers Paola Bermudez, Jose Ballestas and Carolina Ballestas.
In the most recent inspection, Oct. 29, inspectors Margaret Alvarez and Tasheka Edmond put a Stop Use Order on the cold unit that should keep the beef, ham, cheese and eggs inside at or under 41 degrees. The cooler’s temperature couldn’t get below 44 degrees.
This is similar to a couple of the violations found on Nov. 20, 2024, by Alvarez and Ashley Montanez Bradshaw that led to enough food for a family holiday dinner getting tossed.
The hot box unit that needed to keep food at or above 135 degrees measured only 100 degrees. Stop Use on the hot box unit, Stop Sales on the chicken empanadas, chorizo croquetas, ham croquetas, cheese tequeños, guava and cheese pastelitos, chicken thighs and chicken tenders, all of which were well under 135 degrees.
Cooked arroz con pollo, soup, black beans, yuca, short ribs and shredded beef all got hit with Stop Sales after not being cooled enough by two hours in the walk-in cooler.
In that same walk-in cooler, a “package of mozzarella cheese was found with mold.”
A “food employee did not wash hands between entering and exiting the food preparation area, and prior to donning gloves to handle food items.”
“Cardboard with a heavy accumulation of grease was used to line retail shelves where individually prepackaged chips are stored.”
“Heavy, dried-on milk was accumulated on the steam wand that was in use after more than 4 hours without being cleaned.” Those are supposed to be washed and sanitized every four hours.
“Spoons used for coffee and coffee with milk were stored in a cup with standing water measuring 70 degrees.” That’s supposed to be at least 135 degrees.
Outside, “trash bags and garbage were found on floor of the dumpster enclosure.”
