#1
We poke the cardboard and our finger goes right through it. The juices from the three meats had turned the cardboard into pulp. We then notice it dripping from the combined sludge of chicken, pork, and beef blood. From the looks of the cardboard, it had been dripping for a while.
We look to the shelf below to see the results of the drip. Underneath the meats, in the shelf second from the top, the restaurant was storing three buckets of ice cream. Without lids. Directly under the meat drip.
We look inside the ice cream containers and see congealed, partially frozen, cardboard-laced raw-meat drippings, pooled in the center of each tub of ice cream. None of the ice creams were more than halfway full.
We ask the kitchen manager how long they've been storing their items like this. He doesn't remember. At least a few months.
My theory is, because the place was A) a "nice" restaurant and B) an "ethnic" restaurant, patrons were less likely to complain about odd flavors. For example, instead of complaining about blood in the ice cream, wondering out loud if that taste is star anise.
That's one of the few inspections that made me feel physically sick. Place still got an A because the restaurant grade system in my city is about as effective as TSA.
An estimated 600 million people get sick after eating contaminated food every year. That's almost 1 in 10 people worldwide. 420,000 of them die. Let that sink in before you consider eating at a dodgy restaurant...
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that unsafe food causes more than 200 diseases, ranging from diarrhoea to cancers. "Foodborne illnesses are usually infectious or toxic in nature and caused by bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemical substances entering the body through contaminated food," explains WHO's site. "Chemical contamination can lead to acute poisoning or long-term diseases, such as cancer. Many foodborne diseases may lead to long-lasting disability and death."
In America, the federal government estimates that there are about 48 million cases of foodborne illness annually. Each year, these illnesses result in an estimated 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths.
#2
#3
Oh I forgot, he wasn't supposed to even touch the machinery, that was my job. So he was dirtying my already clean equipment.
"Symptoms of foodborne illness usually appear 12 to 72 hours after eating contaminated food but may occur between 30 minutes and 4 weeks later," notes the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). These symptoms may include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, fever, headaches, and body aches.
According to the World Health Organization, Salmonella, Campylobacter and enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli are some of the most common foodborne pathogens affecting millions of people around the world. The culprits are often eggs, poultry, milk, other animal products, and drinking water. There are also cases of people getting sick from contaminated fresh fruits and vegetables.
#4
#5
Norovirus is another thing you should be worried about when eating at a place that has no concern for health and safety measures. It's a foodborne infection characterized by nausea, explosive vomiting, watery diarrhea, and abdominal pain.
WHO warns that hepatitis A can also be transmitted by food and can cause long-lasting liver disease. The virus typically spreads through raw or undercooked seafood or contaminated raw produce.
#6
Under the food prep assembly area, the grout between the tiles on the floor had been worn away almost completely, and never replaced. Food would fall on the floor, and then get stomped in between the tiles by people working and walking around. You wouldn't notice the smell of rotting food, unless someone actually swept and pulled the top layer off of the rot, and once you DID smell it it was F*****G HORRIBLE.
I went to go complain to the manager about it, and he said "don't worry about it" and grabbed his cologne and started spritzing the *entire kitchen*, some of it landing on the food itself. So not only could you still smell food rot, but you could also smell cheap $2 cologne, and he sprayed chemicals all over the food. When I questioned him about it and told him we needed to replace the food, he told me to shut up or he would send me home.
I came in the next day, picked up my check, and left my work outfit with them. Called to report that afternoon.
#7
As info for those not in the ice cream business, most soft serve machines need to be cleaned (meaning fully disassembled, scrubbed, and sanitized) at least weekly, some every 3 days...
He got a call from a woman complaining that the vanilla side of her machine was coming out with black specks in it. Was worried it might be grinding up an o-ring or worse. He took the head off the machine and claims he nearly lost his lunch, as the barrel was infested with cockroaches. Apparently, the woman had never cleaned the machine in the several months she had been open. Somehow the roaches got into it (at night, the barrel stops freezing, and just keeps the mix cool, so it returns to a liquid) and were being ground up and expelled as additional protein. How long has it been doing this? About a week! Ewwww.
The organization has also revealed that toxins in food are a very real problem worldwide. These can be naturally occurring toxins like mycotoxins, marine biotoxins, cyanogenic glycosides and toxins occurring in poisonous mushrooms.
You might be surprised to know that staple foods like corn or cereals can contain high levels of mycotoxins, produced by mould on grain. "Long-term exposure can affect the immune system and normal development, or cause cancer," warns WHO.
#8
This was before cellphones you youngsters - I am in class and my pager (yes, pager) is blowing up from their number. I call and one of the Mexican staff picks up and all I could gather is "please mr fish man you come now very big prolem emegerncia".
I head out there and there are health inspectors there. So, for all the tanks I take care of if a fish dies I ask the owner to put it in a bag and freeze it so I can take a look and see if I can figure out why it kicked the bucket.
Well, one of their very old and very large, and pretty beat up blue tangs (Dory) had died and they had froze it per instructions. The inspectors show up to this seafood restaurant and first thing they see is this decrepit old fish, that had been munched on by the other fish in the tank along side the catch of the day. It was before opening, and only the Mexican staff were there who had no idea how to explain it.
I got it sorted out, but kinda funny :)
#9
Then there are what's known as persistent organic pollutants (POPs). These are compounds that accumulate in the environment and the human body. "Known examples are dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which are unwanted by-products of industrial processes and waste incineration," explains WHO. "They are found worldwide in the environment and accumulate in animal food chains."
The health body warns that dioxins are "highly toxic" and can cause reproductive and developmental problems, damage the immune system, interfere with hormones, and cause cancer.
#10
She walks into a local convenience store and discovers a litter box behind the counter. Totally unacceptable. Tells the proprietor that he needs to get rid of the litter box. That's kind of a health code violation.
He replies, "Well, it's for the cat. We've been having mice/rat issues."
To which she's all, "Ohhhhh."
Cat walks up. She tells him he can't have a cat in a food establishment. He hands the cat to his wife and she takes it out of the store to their camper trailer nearby the store. Waits for her to leave.
Rinse and repeat.
#11
The best way to prevent food-borne illnesses or food poisoning in your own home is by following a simple four-step process.
Clean, Separate, Cook, and Chill, advises the Centers For Disease Control (CDC).
"Clean" is pretty self-explanatory. Keep your hands, food, utensils and home clean. "Germs that cause food poisoning can survive in many places and spread around your kitchen," explains the CDC, adding that you should wash your hands for at least 20 seconds with soap and water before, during, and after preparing food and before eating.
You should also always wash your hands after handling uncooked meat, chicken and other poultry, seafood, flour, or eggs. "Wash your utensils, cutting boards, and countertops with hot, soapy water after preparing each food item," adds the CDC site. "Rinse fresh fruits and vegetables under running water."
#12
•An old liquor store, which had once been the front unit of a housing duplex, had now coverted into full-service deli (sandwiches, fried chicken, etc.) without plan review, so they were severely lacking in all the proper space and equipment. Observed were:
-Rat infestation; droppings everywhere in the place
-Mountains of old cast-off equipment in the back (giving the rats a home)
-Meat defrosting on the hood of an inoperable car on the side alley
-Back unit of duplex (now converted to food storage) had unfinished wooden boards on the floor, which were now soft and rotting from soaking up years of meat juice and everything else.
•While inspecting a chinese buffet, I noted to the employees that there were tubs of frozen fried shrimp stacked on top of one a other without covers, so they needed to discard the top layers of the food and put on the tub lids. As they scrambled to do so, they knocked over the tower of shrimp, spilling it everywhere. As I was standing there, they hurridly started scooping the shrimp off the floor and back into the tubs. I’M STANDING RIGHT HERE YOU GUYS.
•A guy ordered commercial sausage-making equipment delivered to his private home. Manufacturer got suspicious and tipped off the health deparment. Turns out the guy would go hunting all sorts of exotic game meat without permits, process them into sausages in his rat-infested garage (droppings the size of jelly beans), and was selling them to the public.
Don’t buy food from “home cooks” folks!
#13
We get to the plant and there are dozens of cats, inside the plant, outside the plant, wharehouse, etc. CATS EVERYWHERE! Nobody said anything. They were even in the office building. After a few trips, I finally asked. One guy said in a joke, "It's either rats or cats. We don't have a rat problem here.".
"Separate" basically means don't cross-contaminate. "Raw meat, chicken and other poultry, seafood, and eggs can spread germs to ready-to-eat food unless you keep them separate," warns the CDC, adding that when grocery shopping, one should keep raw meat, poultry, seafood, and their juices away from other foods.
You should also keep raw or marinating meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs separate from all other foods in the refrigerator. And store raw meat, poultry, and seafood in sealed containers or wrap them securely so the juices don't leak onto other foods.
Another important tip from the CDC is to use one cutting board or plate for raw meat, poultry, and seafood, and a separate cutting board or plate for produce, bread, and other foods that won't be cooked.
You might be surprised to know that raw chicken is ready to cook and doesn't need to be washed first. "Washing these foods can spread germs to other foods, the sink, and the counter and make you sick," cautions the CDC.
#14
H.I.: *pulls bug out of already prepared food* “What’s this?”
Owner: “That’s a bean.”
H.I.: “Beans don’t have legs!!!”.
#15
Six months ago, boss decided to lease out the kitchen and move me to the main store. Ex-customers keep coming to me to complain about the food tasting bad and making them sick, so I went back to check and counted about 6 violations that would get them shut down or fined. Clorox bleach stored on the floor next to chicken breading, defrosting meat stored above the vegetables (it drips down onto the veggies), and at the end of the day the cook takes all the food trays and puts them, uncovered, into the fridge to sell the next day without letting them at least cool down. It smells like rotting food back there since they never clean out the drains. I've also seen her cutting uncooked meat with a machete on the bare floor and she never ices down the raw chicken at the end of the day so it starts to stink by mid-week.
Boss has lost half his regular customer base.
Always make sure to cook food to the right internal temperature. The only way to know a meal has been safely cooked is to use a food thermometer, with the exception of seafood, which changes color when ready.
"Food is safely cooked when the internal temperature gets high enough to destroy germs that can make you sick," explains the CDC, adding that you should always microwave food thoroughly. "Follow recommended cooking and standing times," notes the site. "Letting food sit for a few minutes after microwaving allows cold spots to absorb heat from hotter areas and cook more completely."
#16
Another experience working at a local cafe. I was cutting up cheese from a walk in fridge and I found a hole in the cardboard box that the cheese was kept in. Turned out it was from rats or mice, and they were eating the cheese. Told my manager about it and he told me to cut around the bite marks and still used the cheese. Left that job shortly after.
#17
I go to get started and I'm mixing up the s**t we have to use in restaurants, and I'm using the water from one of their triple sinks. The water is coming out hot, it's a Vegas summer, so I'm letting it run until it cools down some. I look over at the floor sink the triple sink drains into, and there's a lot of German cockroaches coming out of it. F**k it, this water will do. I fill up the two gallons, put the pump/handle back in and shake it to mix it, pump it to pressurize and it and get to work. When you start with a full canister, there's less air, so you have to stop and pause to repump it to keep the pressure up. As I'm going the hitting all the cracks and crevices, behind the sinks, the equipment, under every thing, the seam in the wipe down plastic walls, etc, roaches are just pouring out in to the open. It's in the thousands stage, where now, when I stand still they are trying to hide under my boots. The last time I have to stop to pump up the canister, I'm standing on it's stainless steel with the brass handle between my feet. F**k this.
I call on the radio for a coworker who I know is nearby because he has a fog unit and I don't at this point (newly hired, wasn't 100% kitted out). Tony swings by, I'm waiting out side, and we renegotiate the service. The new owner had been a little on the light side with the depth of his problem. He agrees, we get to fogging. Tony's showing me how to do it, so I'm just walking behind him. At this point there's tens of thousands of roaches every where; floor, walls, ceiling. We get to the walkin and above it where I think the compressor was, was a 4 foot (h) by 8 foot by 10 foot space. Tony directs the fog stream up in there, and the roaches start pouring out. Pouring out in such numbers that briefly, you can barely see the stainless steel of the walk in door.
The entire rest of the day, any little itch on my skin, you're leaping to slap it and check it's not a roach stuck on you.
#18
If the public areas of a restaurant are dirty, the kitchen probably isn't any better. If staff members you interact with are poorly trained, those you don't have contact with (such as the person making your food) are likely to be the same. In short: whatever you can't see probably mirrors (or is even worse than) what you can.
Finally, always refrigerate food promptly. "Bacteria can multiply rapidly if left at room temperature or in the 'Danger Zone' between 40°F and 140°F," warns the CDC. "Never leave perishable food out for more than 2 hours (or 1 hour if exposed to temperatures above 90°F)."
It's also important to thaw frozen food safely in the refrigerator, in cold water, or in the microwave. The CDC cautions that thawing food on the counter is not advisable because bacteria multiply quickly in the parts of the food that reach room temperature.
#19
The cheesecakes are left in low temperature cupboards rater than freezers, which isn’t cold enough so they have bright green mould.
Every single egg there is expired - I checked with the egg in water test.
The pizza doughs have all gone bad - you can even tell from the smell.
There are milk cartons in the fridge that have been there for around 2 months.
He offered me to come work there for £9 an hour, which in England is a lot for someone my age.
I said no and I dont regret it, a health inspector is gonna come there soon and close it anyway hopefully.
#20
