A Charlottetown restaurant has received a warning letter from provincial health inspectors because their employees weren’t washing their hands as often as necessary.
Razzy’s Roadhouse was hit with the warning letter on Aug. 1 during a follow-up inspection following a routine inspection on July 5 in which the matter was first noted.
“There was staff observed handling food or clean sanitary dishes without washing their hands at appropriate times, and that had been noted on the previous inspection as well,’’ said Kelly Hughes, senior environmental health officer with the Department of Health and Wellness. “Management has to reinforce with staff that there are times when it needs to be done. People just need to be conscious of what they’re doing.’’
Other items were noted on the initial July 5 inspection, included failure to receive, store, process and/or transport food or food packaging materials under conditions that prevent contamination and adulteration; failure to maintain the premises and equipment in a clean and sanitary condition; and failure to post a food safety training certificate in a location where it can be verified by a public health official. None of those items required a warning letter, and all issues had been rectified when inspectors went back Aug. 1.
Provincial health inspectors operate on a graduated level of enforcement when it comes to inspecting food premises:
- The first step would be to issue a warning letter on matters that were noted during an initial routine inspection and still not addressed
- If the issue still hasn’t been dealt with the next step is to issue notice of intent to issue a health order
- If the matter still hasn’t been resolved inspectors can issue a health order which gives them the authority to shut the business down
Subway on the Cavendish Boardwalk was hit with a warning letter on July 17 after a previous inspection noted that no employee present had valid food safety training. That initial inspection also flagged Subway for failing to maintain potentially hazardous food at a temperature of 4 C or colder, but that issue did not require a warning letter as it was rectified when inspectors went back on July 17.
“There is a requirement to always have at least one person at any given shift that has valid food safety training,’’ Hughes said. “It can be a challenge for people busy in the summer with scheduling and people taking days off.’’
Subway has since ensured its staff has the necessary training.
Aing’s Tea House at the Charlottetown Farmers Market was also hit with a warning letter for failing to have an employee with valid food safety training. That issue remains unresolved.
Vanessa Rennie Ice in Alberton received a warning letter for operating without a valid food premise licence. The licence was renewed by the time inspectors went back Aug. 2.
However, health inspectors did note other violations during the routine inspection on July 26 — failure to provide a no-rinse, food grade, chemical sanitizing solution at the appropriate concentration, failure to provide an appropriate procedure to verify sanitizer strength and failure to provide handwashing facilities that are equipped with single use liquid soap in a dispenser and single use towels in a dispenser or an approved drying device. All issues were cleared up upon re-inspection Aug. 2 and didn’t require a warning letter.
Three other food-related businesses were also hit with warning letters for operating without a valid licence: Cavendish Gateway Resort in Mayfield (since renewed); Crystal Beach Campground canteen in New Annan (since renewed) and Tignish Shore Community Improvement Committee on the Harbour Road.
