Restaurant Inspections: Live Roach Spotted in Steakhouse

Inspectors from the Virginia Department of Health visited several restaurants in or near Oakton this week. See a sampling of those results below, and visit the health department's website for a complete list of recent inspections.

Terrace Cafe
3040 Williams Drive
Date of inspection: September 24
The surfaces of the mechanical ware washing machine have an accumulation of lime scale that may decrease the effectiveness of the unit.
 
Sakura Japanese Steak & Seafood House
12950 Fair Lakes Shopping Center
Date of inspection: September 20
Effective methods are not being used to control pests. A live roach was seen on the floor of the hibachi stations.
 
Flint Hill Elementary School
2444 Flint Hill Road
Date of inspection: September 23
The following food item(s) were observed cold holding at improper temperatures using a calibrated food temperature measuring device: Cooked chicken strip on salad at serving line.
 
Penguin Cafe
4300 Fair Lakes Court
Date of inspection: September 23
No violations were found during the inspection
 
Whole Foods Market Store #37
143 Maple Ave. E.
Date of inspection: September 23
The mechanical ware washing machine was not operating in accordance with the manufacturer's specifications. NOTE: Dish machine out of service at the time of inspection. Dish machine scheduled for replacement by the end of the week. Provide service invoice for new dish machine/dish machine repair to Health Department within 10 days.

About these inspections: 

"Ideally, an operation would have no critical violations, or none which are not corrected immediately and not repeated. In our experience, it is unrealistic to expect that a complex, full-service food operation can routinely avoid any violations," according to department of health website.

The site continues: "Keep in mind that any inspection report is a 'snapshot' of the day and time of the inspection. On any given day, a restaurant could have fewer or more violations than noted in the report. An inspection conducted on any given day may not be representative of the overall, long term cleanliness of an establishment."

Full reports can be accessed on the health department's website.
A core item "usually relates to general sanitation, operational controls, sanitation standard operating procedures (SSOPs), facilities or structures, equipment design, or general maintenance."

A priority item is "a provision in this code whose application contributes directly to the elimination, prevention or reduction to an acceptable level, hazards associated with food borne illness or injury and there is no other provision that more directly controls the hazard," and "includes items with a quantifiable measure to show control of hazards such as cooking, reheating, cooling, hand washing."

A priority foundation item "includes an item that requires the purposeful incorporation of specific actions, equipment or procedures by industry management to attain control of risk factors that contribute to food borne illness or injury such as personnel training, infrastructure or necessary equipment, HACCP plans, documentation or record keeping, and labeling."