Popular eateries cited for health violations

Two popular restaurants in Cairo volunteered to close in recent weeks after health inspectors cited them for violations that could result in customers falling ill.
Jin’s Chinese food restaurant on North Broad Street, and Kentucky Fried Chicken on U.S. 84, both closed early the day of their separate inspections and reopened the next day with the blessings of the Grady County Health Department.
On Monday, July 27, on a routine inspection of Jin’s, inspectors found the buffet line was not hot, a cooler was malfunctioning and unable to keep food at 41 degrees or below, and the general sanitation of the facility was poor.
“They closed down early and were able to reopen the next morning after they got everything cleaned up,” says Clarcia Avery, environmental health technician I. Jin’s reopened with a new food service score of 84.
On Wednesday, July 29, at KFC, inspectors were following up on a customer complaint and found eight hazardous violations, according to Ms. Avery. Most of the infractions were related to temperature, but included the person in charge who failed to demonstrate knowledge; a blocked sink drain in the kitchen; and food waiting to be sold that was not kept at 135 degrees.
Avery says any food items kept at an improper temperature were discarded, and the restaurant volunteered to close and correct all of the issues.
“They had corrected all of the critical violations, and all that was left was ‘good retail practices’,” Avery reports. Good retail practices, she says, includes cleaning floors, walls and ceilings or using utensils properly.
“Anything that could make a customer sick had been corrected,” Avery says. The restaurant reopened with a food service score of 98.
The public may go online to find food service scores for the entire Southwest Georgia region at rtn.darton.edu/phirn, click on health departments and select a county then click restaurant inspections.
New rules, Avery says, mean restaurants that have two unsatisfactory food scores in one 12-month period, must forfeit their food permit. To regain the permit, the restaurateur must follow strict rules, such as having a plan of correction, meeting specific time frames and enduring more frequent food service inspections.
Avery says two unsatisfactory scores is unusual in Grady County, where businesses usually follow the rules once they are made aware.
Grady County is minus one restaurant inspector as of last Friday. Kurt Stoltz, environmental health specialist III, transferred to Valdosta, from where he has commuted while working in Grady County, according to Avery. Avery will continue to conduct restaurant inspections solo until a new inspector is hired.