Moldy fruit and why a Miami Beach grocer may be banned from getting new food
Too little hot water and too many live roaches put a Miami Beach grocery store on the brink of being banned from getting new food deliveries.
The warning for M & L Food Market, 7446 Collins Ave., couldn’t be more clear on Monday’s Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services inspection report by Inspector Pedro Llanos.
Llanos dropped Stop Use Orders on “all processing and open foods” and “food service equipment and utensils in that area” in kitchen both because of the handwash sink’s lack of hot water and the live roaches he spotted.
“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,” the inspection said. “A Stop Use Order of all processing equipment will be issued and a Stop Sale Order of all exposed food items will be issued until the infestation is eradicated.”
READ MORE: Roaches cause a Hialeah restaurant-grocery to lose most food privileges
Here’s some of the violations on the 13-page inspection report:
An orange sitting on top of a juicer was “found with white, mold-like substances.”
“Flying insects are present” in the food service area, the food prep area, the kitchen, the backroom and the washroom.
A live roach was “observed behind the prep table next to the washroom entrance” in the kitchen and another was seen “behind the prep table next to the slicers” in the deli area. Both the kitchen and the deli got hit with Stop Use Orders.
In the kitchen and food service areas, food employees “did not wash hands before donning gloves.”
Not helping matters in that regard: No hot water or way to dry hands at the kitchen handwash sink. M & L has until May 26 to get hot water into that kitchen handwash sink.
Deli slicers are supposed to be washed, rinsed and sanitized every four hours when on the job. Deli area workers clocked the slicers in at 8 a.m., but hadn’t done anything else by 12:15. Stop Use on the deli slicers.
In the food service area, “deli meats including ham, pork, turkey and mortadella stored inside the reach-in display cooler were not date marked, and the opening date could not be determined.” Nine packs of deli meat got hit with Stop Sales.
A “container with dry breading used for breading fish had been kept at room temperature since 8 a.m., and hadn’t been sifting at 12:20 pm.” Stop Sale on the breading.
A pot of beef stew sitting on a prep table since at least 8 a.m. needed to be kept in hot holding (above 135 degrees) or cold storage (cooled to 41 degrees or more). Instead, as of 11:45 a.m., it measured 89 degrees. Stop Sale.
Similarly, Stop Sales crashed down on three breaded chicken sandwiches and a ham and cheese sandwich that measured 89 to 94 in the hot holding unit.
Stop Use Orders ended the work life of cutting boards in the kitchen and produce areas that had “deep grooves/cuts and can no longer be effectively cleaned and sanitized.”
A problem in the meat walk-in cooler’s condenser unit had a pipe leaking from the ceiling.
Wet wiping cloths in the food service, kitchen and deli areas sat on prep tables when not being used instead of resting in sanitizer solution.
“Carbon-encrusted and burned-on grease deposits were found on the exterior of multiple cooking pots and pans.”
M & L was selling kratom products “while not being designated as a hemp/kratom food establishment.”
