SOUTHINGTON — A local restaurant received priority violations, the most serious under a new system using the FDA food code, during a December health inspection.
Young Young Chinese Buffet, 1668 Meriden-Waterbury Road, was cited with five priority violations during an inspection by the South Central Health District on Dec. 13 following a complaint, according to the inspection report.
While the original complaint was not substantiated, the establishment was cited for having unauthorized personnel enter through the back door holding raw fish by the tail. The fish appeared to be freshly caught and not from an approved food distributor.
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Messages left with employees of Young Young Chinese Buffet were not returned.
The violation was addressed and corrected on site at the time of the inspection by Young Young staff who attempted to intervene and have the person leave, according to the report. The inspector confirmed with the person that the food item was not from an approved distributor and the inspector required the item be removed from the establishment, the report states.
The establishment was also cited after an employee was observed going out for a cigarette and returning to food preparation without washing hands, according to the report. The violation was addressed at the time of inspection by asking the employee to wash their hands. The employee rinsed one hand in a three-bay sink and was unwilling to properly wash hands in the dedicated sink with soap and hot water, according to the report.
The restaurant was also cited for an employee having bare-hand contact with ready-to-eat-food, according the inspection report.
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Another priority violation, according to the report, involved a large volume of cooked foods stored at room temperature on the counter. The violation was corrected by the business at the time of the inspection by placing foods in cold holding to properly bring temperatures down within adequate time, the report states.
The establishment was also cited for having a food service employee who lacked food safety knowledge and understanding. That was addressed on site at the time of the inspection through observation and conversation, the report states. South Central Health District staff required re-certification to be completed for maintaining an educated certified food protection manager who works in a full-time capacity in the kitchen.
An inspector from the health district returned to Young Young a week later on Dec. 20 for re-inspection and all "priority violations" were corrected.
No other Southington restaurants were cited for a priority violation in December or January, according to the health district.
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'Science-backed' code
As of February 2022, Connecticut joined most other states in adopting the U.S. Food and Drug Administration food code, taking a more standardized approach to inspections.
“That FDA food code is a federal recommendation,” said Susan Lonczak, director of the South Central Health District. “It’s a code of science-backed recommendations for how to inspect and properly oversee restaurants.”
Although the new system no longer uses “pass or fail," it is based on three criteria focused on "priority item violations" that would have an impact on people.
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“So the more critical the issue or the more impact it has on people the faster we’re going to have them fix it,” Lonczak said.
Generally restaurants that have priority item violations “fail” and those that have core item violations and no major priority item violations “pass."
Types of violations
“Priority item violations are more critical, like temperature violations, food items being stored at incorrect temperature or the fridge not working,” Lonczak said.
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These violations must be corrected by the permit holder no longer than 72 hours following the inspection.
“Priority foundation item violations are things that need to be cleaned like gaskets, behind the stove, interior of the fridge, food contact surfaces,” said South Central Health District sanitarian Bianca Miorino.
These must be corrected no later than 10 calendar days following the inspection.
“Core item violations are not an immediate threat to the public, but in need of basic repair like tile stains, cleaning under equipment etc.” said South Central sanitarian Fallon Foreman. “So kind of things that might need regular maintenance that can get out of control and lead to things like pests etc.”
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These must be corrected by an agreed upon date and time or specified by regulatory authority, but no later than 90 calendar days following the inspection.
The new form
All violations and corrections are recorded on a lengthy and detailed inspection report and continuation form.
“The new system makes it more complicated for the inspector but it also deepens the relationship that we have with the establishments because it pushes more conversations with them, gives explanations, builds better habits and holds them accountable,” Lonczak said. “The form can be overwhelming for restaurants as well so the continuation form is like a cheat sheet of notes from the inspector on what the issues are and how to correct them.”
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“If we do identify an imminent health hazard it could be at that moment that we require that it’s fixed or closure of the restaurant depending on how severe or significant the threat is to public health,” Foreman said.
“They have the authorization through me to make that call,” said Lonczak.
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