WEST CHESTER, PA — Chester County health inspectors ordered temperature-controlled food discarded at two West Chester restaurants Wednesday after finding unsafe refrigeration conditions during emergency inspections, including an overnight power outage at La Rancherita Mexican Taqueria.
The Chester County Health Department reported that La Rancherita, 323 E. Gay St., lost power from approximately 10 p.m. Tuesday until 9 or 10 a.m. Wednesday.
Inspectors found meats, cheeses, sauces and cut fruits and vegetables above 41 degrees after power was restored. The food had remained above the permitted temperature for more than four hours and had not been discarded before inspectors arrived, according to the report.
The department also cited the restaurant’s person in charge for failing to report an imminent health hazard and cease operations.
Inspectors found live and dead juvenile cockroaches on glue boards in the restaurant’s kitchen, food-storage, preparation and warewashing areas. La Rancherita provided an invoice showing its most recent pest-control treatment occurred Aug. 28 and that another treatment was scheduled Wednesday evening.
The department directed the restaurant to submit pest-control reports, remove cardboard, clean surfaces and equipment and seal openings near its three-compartment sink. Inspectors also ordered repairs to a hood system that was not properly removing heat or grease.
At America’s Pie, 323 E. Gay St., inspectors recorded food temperatures ranging from 45 to 54 degrees across all refrigeration units. All temperature-controlled food above 41 degrees was discarded on-site.
Frozen products that remained below 41 degrees could be kept but were required to be date-marked Wednesday and used within seven days.
America’s Pie was also cited after inspectors found an empty sanitizer container connected to its dishwasher while dishes were being run through the machine. The restaurant was directed to rewash the affected dishes in its three-compartment sink and test the dishwasher’s chlorine concentration each morning.
Other findings included an excessively concentrated sanitizing solution, a leaking handwashing sink, a lack of sanitizer test strips and bleach stored in an old hot-sauce container. The bleach container was discarded, and the overly concentrated sanitizer was remade at the proper level during the inspection.
The person in charge was cited for failing to notify the department of an imminent health hazard and stop operations.
A separate emergency inspection at Pizza 316, 316 E. Gay St., found cooked chicken had not cooled within the required time limits. The chicken was discarded on-site.
An employee was also observed filling a bucket from the mop sink with water intended for making dough. The water was discarded, and the restaurant was directed to retrain employees to use the food-preparation sink.
Pizza 316 was additionally cited for inadequate handwashing, unavailable paper towels and cigarettes stored on a box of potatoes. An employee left to obtain paper towels during the inspection.
At Kung Fu Tea, 558 Lancaster Ave. in Berwyn, inspectors determined that the person in charge did not demonstrate adequate food-safety knowledge during a noncompliant inspection.
The facility was cited for improperly cooling a large pot of cooked food, holding spicy mayonnaise above 41 degrees, improperly arranging its three-compartment sink and failing to date-mark prepared refrigerated foods.
The spicy mayonnaise was placed under refrigeration during the inspection. Inspectors also found handwashing sinks without soap or paper towels, both of which were supplied on-site.
Kung Fu Tea was further cited for a repeat accumulation of grease and debris on its hood system. The facility did not have a current Chester County-certified food manager and was directed to begin the certification process within seven days.
At Slow Hand, 30 N. Church St. in West Chester, inspectors found the restaurant using reduced-oxygen packaging without approved written procedures and a required hazard analysis and critical control point plan. Food stored through that process was discarded.
Inspectors also found prepared syrups and sauces held longer than seven days, shellfish without required identification tags and a menu that did not clearly identify foods available raw or undercooked.
The restaurant’s dishwasher sanitizer measured 25 parts per million, below the required range of 50 to 100 ppm. Inspectors directed the restaurant to use another warewashing method until the machine is repaired.
Slow Hand was also cited for food residue on soda-gun components, exposed insulation in a beer cooler, loose refrigerator gaskets and reused single-service containers.
Thirteen other facilities inspected Sept. 2 were listed as in compliance: D.F. Grocery and Deli, DP Dough West Chester, Jersey Mike’s Subs, Kooma Sushi Bar and Lounge, Levante Brewing Company and Rita’s Water Ice in West Chester; Downingtown Academy Learning Center, Nalan Indian Cuisine and Wawa #245 in Downingtown; First Baptist Church of Passtown in Coatesville; Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream in Berwyn; Piatto Pizza in West Chester; and Wawa #289 in West Nottingham.
The Health Department cautions that an inspection reflects conditions at a specific date and time and may not represent a facility’s long-term sanitation or food-safety status.
Residents can submit confidential environmental health complaints at https://www.chesco.org/5843. Anyone who becomes ill after eating at a food establishment should call the Health Department at 610-344-6225.
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