Moonshadow1
New Member
BG Rugger said:What exactly is a "critical health code violation"?
A critical health code Violation is something the health department considers a direct way to get someone sick. (all of the things listed as a violation are there because it could get you sick)
In Fla. there is a code that states all employees who handle ready to eat food, Food that will not be cooked before it reaches the customer, has to wear rubber gloves or the restaurant has to have a documented plan for the education and implemntation of hand washing procedures. Well to make life in chaos easier most restaurants go with the gloves. The inspector comes in and asks are you using gloves or hand washing, When you answer gloves, everyone who is handleing ready to eat foods must have gloves on. For each person not wearing gloves is a critical violation.
Another biggie is unsafe food temps. We have what is called a danger zone. 40 to 135 degrees F. That means chicken at 41 degrees is unsafe but at 39 it is ok. And the heath department changes this. The first time I took the food managers sanitation class it was 35 to 120, the next time it was 45 to 140, that last time was four months ago and it is 40 to 135.
The point here is someone telling you 77 critical violations actually does not mean much. Without knowing what violations and how off the temps were there is no way of knowing how bad a place really is. For those of you that are that concerned, every restaurant in the state of Fl. has to have its most current health inspection available for the general public to see if asked. So ask to see it. If the restaurant had any violations it will be clearly stated, if it was a food temp violation it will say what temp the food was at. Most inspectors are told to find at least three violations. I have had inspectors who will mark something a violation this time that three months ago were aproved by the same inspector, because he or she needs to have three, so if in the future there is a problem with a place they inspected they do not loose their jobs.
Keep in mind most people get food borne illness from their own homes, but because they can't complain to anyone about themselves you only hear about it when restaurants do it.
Here is a critical violation most people do at home. Ever wash you hands and dry them on a towel, then wipe the counter with the towel. Opps thats a violation. Cross contamination. You need a clean towel for every use.