Two HCC cafeterias violated code
The French Corner Cafe at Central recently received two health code violations from the Houston Health Department. The cafeteria at Coleman also received a violation.
February 9, 2017
On recent inspections, a Houston Community College Central campus cafeteria received two health code violations while the Coleman campus cafeteria received one health code violation.
The Houston Health Department conducted routine, unannounced inspections of the two French Corner cafeteria locations on Jan 19.
Loading ...Christopher Sparks, the chief sanitarian over retail food inspections at the Houston Health Department, explained that this violation is could mean something like having a cutting board with too many scratches, making the surface too absorbent and causing it to be a breeding ground for bacteria. Sparks said that the sanitarian who inspected the cafeteria did not note exactly what was wrong, but noting the exact issue is not required for completing the inspection report.
At the French Corner Cafeteria inside the Coleman campus building at 1900 Pressler, city health inspectors reported that the establishment was in violation of the Houston health ordinance because the hand-washing sink was not accessible to employees at all times. The health inspection report notes that the violation was corrected on site.
Improvements
The January inspections are an improvement from these cafeterias previous health inspections. In an August inspection, the Central campus cafeteria received violations due to food-contact surfaces of equipment having accumulated grease deposits and soil, as well as food service items not being handled correctly in order to prevent contamination.
In September, the Colman cafeteria received a violation because potentially hazardous foods were not kept at the proper internal temperature.
Back in August, the French Corner location next to the Central campus bookstore at 1215 Holman received a violation for food service equipment not being in good enough repair to prevent food contact surfaces from being unsanitary or toxic. The ice machine at that location was also found to be in a state of disrepair which could lead to ice contamination, but it was corrected on site.
The French Corner next to the Central Campus bookstore has not been re-inspected since August. All food establishments in the city are inspected by the Houston Health Department at least once per year.
Inspections Frequent
Sparks explained that there are two ways an eatery like The French Corner would be re-inspected more than once per year. If a food establishment is given a high score on an inspection, it’s automatically scheduled for re-inspection sooner than one year.
The second way an eatery would be re-inspected sooner is if the Health Department received a complaint. Sparks explained that once a report is received, it is assigned to an area supervisor and given a priority ranking. Sanitation and sickness complaints are investigated within 24 to 48 hours.
Anyone can file a complaint to the City of Houston Health Department on a food vendor within city limits by calling 832-393-5100 or filling out the anonymous online form here.
