Restaurant Las Marias

Inspector notes: Observed an employee that was rinsing chopped lettuce in a bucket in a prep sink. The employee was observed after rinsing the lettuce to put her fingers into the lettuce and she then ran her hand across the top of the chopped lettuce. The employee was made to wash her hands, grab clean gloves and then disposed of the lettuce that she touched with bare hands (see embargo form). Discussed the importance of preventing bare hand contact with ready-to-eat (RTE) foods with the person-in-charge (PIC). Bare hand contact is not approved with ready-to-eat (RTE) food items

Inspector notes: Observed a pot of roasted garlic sitting on the counter. The internal temperature as measured using a probe thermometer was at 77°F. According to the person in charge, the garlic had been roasted and placed on the counter approximately one hour prior to the start of the inspection. The garlic was transferred to a wide, flat shallow pan at a depth of less than 4 inches deep and placed up high inside of the walk-in cooler uncovered to complete the cooling process. TCS foods must be cooled in: uncovered/loosely covered, shallow containers less than 4 inches deep, in equipment designed to rapidly cool, by using an ice bath, by using ice as an ingredient, or another effective means

Inspector notes: Observed some organic growth on the inside of the diet soda fountain nozzle at the soda fountain at the cafe. Discussed with person in charge to clean the soda fountain nozzles on a more regular basis. Person in charge removed the nozzle in question to be washed, rinsed and sanitized. All food-contact surfaces must be cleaned to sight and touch

Inspector notes: Observed raw shell eggs stored above ready-to-eat (RTE) foods such as raw garlic and cans of whipped cream inside of the walk-in cooler. Person in charge relocated the raw shell eggs to the lower level below all RTE foods. Discussed with person in charge that all raw animal proteins must be stored below ready-to-eat (RTE) foods and stored according to cooking temperature at all times to prevent cross contamination. PIC properly stored all raw animal proteins according to the final cooking temperature based on the cooking parameters in § 3-401.11 of the Food Code

Inspector notes: Observed a large, deep (greater than 4 inches) plastic bucket that was filled to the top with green salsa that was prepared in-house according to the person in charge inside of a reach-in refrigerator. The internal temperature of the salsa as measured using a probe thermometer was 60°F. According to the person in charge, the salsa had just been prepared and stored in the bucket within 30 minutes of the start of the inspection. The salsa was removed from the bucket and placed into shallow containers that were less than 4 inches deep, uncovered and placed up high inside of the walk-in cooler to finish cooling. Time and temperature controlled for safety (TCS) foods must be cooled in: uncovered/loosely covered, shallow containers less than 4 inches deep, in equipment designed to rapidly cool, by using an ice bath, by using ice as an ingredient, or another effective means. All TCS foods being cooled in deep containers were transferred to shallow containers to allow for rapid cooling

Inspector notes: Observed a few pans and cups that were stacked together with water still trapped between the pans and cups. Person in charge separated the wet pans and cups so they can fully air dry. Please ensure that dishware is fully air-dried prior to nesting them together. All equipment and food contact surfaces must be air-dried after properly cleaning and sanitizing