WEST CHESTER, PA — Chester County health inspectors cited an Exton restaurant for repeated handwashing failures, improper food temperatures and flies during an Oct. 2 follow-up inspection, while separate inspections identified food-safety and sanitation violations at facilities in Coatesville and Downingtown.
Pakka Spice Indian Restaurant, 4 Tabas Lane in Exton, was cited after inspectors observed employees failing to use soap, washing their hands for less than the required 20 seconds and improperly drying their hands. Employees were also observed putting on gloves without first washing their hands, leaving the restaurant while wearing gloves and returning to the kitchen without changing them, and handling a cellphone during food preparation without washing afterward.
The Chester County Health Department determined that the person in charge lacked adequate food-safety knowledge, citing the noncompliant inspection and incorrect answers to food-safety questions. Employees were directed to complete food-handler courses and provide confirmation to the department.
Inspectors also found frozen, hot and cold foods that had been transported from another facility without temperature control and then left at room temperature. Foods found outside required temperatures were discarded.
Other food was discarded during the inspection, including sauce that measured 51 degrees after being placed directly from refrigeration into a hot-holding unit, milk held at 59 degrees and dry goods contaminated by food debris from bowls or cups being used as scoops.
Inspectors observed flies inside the restaurant and directed the business to obtain professional pest-control treatment and submit the resulting report to the department. Several unapproved insect-control devices were also ordered removed.
Additional violations included food thawing at room temperature, ready-to-eat food lacking date marks, uncovered dry goods, expired chlorine test strips, equipment being washed without sanitizer and an empty paper-towel dispenser at the kitchen’s only handwashing sink.
The restaurant had also added a natural-gas convection oven that inspectors said could not be used until inspected by the township because only part of the unit was under the hood.
At the Salvation Army at 669 E. Lincoln Highway in Coatesville, inspectors found expired cottage cheese, improperly dated ready-to-eat foods and raw eggs stored directly above ready-to-eat food. The cottage cheese was discarded, and the eggs were required to be moved to prevent contamination.
The facility’s walk-in freezer was also overloaded to the point that inspectors reported there was no room to enter it. The Salvation Army was directed to provide additional freezer space or reduce the amount of product ordered within 14 days.
The Social @ Downingtown, 541 W. Lancaster Ave., was cited for a repeat violation involving its menu disclosure for raw or undercooked foods. Inspectors also found raw chicken stored above raw beef and fish, unwashed blackberries being used as an ingredient and food debris and soil inside a prep unit. Corrective actions were taken for several of those conditions during the inspection.
At the bar, inspectors measured no sanitizer in either the three-bay warewashing sink or the final rinse of a low-temperature dishwasher. Employees restored the sink’s sanitizer concentration, while inspectors ordered the dishwasher taken out of service until repaired.
Inspectors also reported mold-like growth on a component inside the basement ice machine and directed the facility to clean and sanitize it that day.
The Health Department cautions that inspections represent conditions observed at a particular date and time and may not reflect a facility’s long-term sanitation or food-safety status.
Facilities listed as in compliance on Oct. 2 included:
- Asian Halal & Shagun Palace, Exton
- Brewing Love, West Chester
- Bright Beginnings Education Center – Food / East Nottingham, Oxford
- Burger King #2731 / Westtown, West Chester
- Chester Valley Golf Club, Malvern
- The Classic Diner, Malvern
- East Branch Brewing Company, Downingtown
- Hill’s Quality Seafood / West Whiteland, Exton
- Honey & Fig / La Table de L’Artisan, Avondale
- Hopewell Elementary School – Food, Oxford
- Smoothie King (Muhammad Sohail), West Chester
- Spring Hollow Golf Course, Spring City
- Sts Philip & James, Exton
- Taco Real Inc. / CCHD #1583, Kennett Square
- Va La Vineyards, LP, Avondale
Residents who observe potentially unsanitary conditions can submit a confidential Environmental Health Complaint at https://www.chesco.org/5843. Anyone who becomes ill after eating at a food establishment is directed to call the Chester County Health Department at 610-344-6225 instead of using the complaint form.
Support the local news that supports Chester County. MyChesCo delivers reliable, fact-based reporting and essential community resources—free for everyone. If you value that, click here to become a patron today.