Restaurant and market fail food safety inspections in Tri-Cities area
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Two Tri‑Cities establishments received failing inspection grades.
- District flagged hot/cold holding, handwashing and other red violations.
- Establishments with 35+ red points get extra inspections.
The Benton Franklin Health District gave two failing grades for food safety inspections at restaurants and other establishments selling food in the Tri-Cities area from March 7-13.
The health district’s food safety team gave passing marks on 16 inspections, with five of those earning perfect scores.
In the district’s routine inspections, businesses or organizations that receive at least 35 points for the more serious red violations are required to have additional inspections and must meet a tougher standard on those.
To pass follow-up inspections, they must have fewer than 25 red points and fewer than 10 repeat red points for previous issues.
Scores of 85 or more red points result in establishments remaining on probation until they pass two follow-up inspections, the first one within 72 hours.
Red violations are those most likely to cause food-borne illnesses, such as not keeping hot food hot enough or cold food cold enough, inadequate handwashing, bare-hand contact with foods or refrigerating meat in a way that could contaminate other food.
Blue violations are low risk factors related to the cleanliness and physical condition of an establishment.
No notice is given before the inspections.
Businesses may have separate inspections of business lines with different health safety risks, such as grocery sales and a deli that prepares food, with one business line passing and another failing.
Information about passed and failed inspections includes only licensed establishments. The health district also responds to complaints of unlicensed pop-up food vendors in Benton and Franklin counties.
To see more inspection results or details of the past week’s inspections, go to inspections.myhealthdepartment.com/bfhd.
For questions or complaints about food safety in Benton or Franklin counties, email contactusfoodsafety@BFHD.WA.GOV.
Food customers may take a survey at bit.ly/FoodSafetyConsumerSurvey, and owners and employees of food establishments may take a survey at bit.ly/FoodSafetyIndustrySurvey.
Failed inspections
Los 3 Hermanos, 1500 W. Court St., Pasco, Routine March 11 (50 Red, 0 Blue)
Notes: No certified food protection manager on staff; hot holding temperatures <135°F (cooked onion at 110°); lack of conformance with approved procedures; inadequate handwashing facilities (pan stored in handwashing sink).
Basin City Market, 6930 Road 170, Mesa, Routine March 13 (65 Red, 5 Blue)
Notes: Improper cooling procedures (shredded chicken); food in poor condition (strawberries and soft cheese moldy); cold holding temperature >45°F (food in part of meat display fridge too warm and that meat was discarded); inadequate handwashing facilities (one handwashing sink blocked by bucket and guest restroom had no paper towel); not disposing of potentially unsafe high-risk food (five containers of queso fresca were more than seven days old).
Passed inspections
Chiawana High School, 8125 W. Argent Road, Pasco, Routine March 10 (0 Red, 0 Blue)
Ding Tea, 5802 N. Road 68, Pasco, Follow-up March 9 (0 Red, 0 Blue)
Island View Market & Deli, 1607 Columbia Park Trail, Richland, Routine March 12 (10 Red, 5 Blue)
John McLoughlin Middle School, 2803 Road 88, Pasco, Routine March 10 (25 Red, 0 Blue)
Little Caesar’s, 4911 N. Road 68, Pasco, Routine March 10 (5 Red, 0 Blue)
Royal Mart 103 (Grocery), 4804 N. Road 68, Pasco, Routine March 10 (5 Red, 0 Blue)
Ruth Livingston Elementary School, 2515 Road 84, Pasco, Routine March 10 (0 Red, 0 Blue)
Sageport Grille, 1633 Columbia Park Trail, Richland, Routine March 12 (10 Red, 5 Blue)
Sister to Sister on the Ave., 236 Port Ave., Prosser, Routine March 13 (0 Red, 0 Blue)
Taqueria La Estrella Jalisco, 6006 W. Clearwater Ave., Kennewick, Routine March 13 (25 Red, 0 Blue)
Tacos Y Mas Premium Tacos, 7425 Sandifur Parkway, Pasco, Routine March 9 (30 Red, 2 Blue)
Teriyaki Grill, 5325 Road 68, Pasco, Follow-up March 9 (5 Red, 3 Blue)
The Dugout, 7111 Burden Blvd., Pasco, Routine March 10 (10 Red, 0 Blue)
The Prosser House by John Gray, 1232 Wine Country Road, Prosser, Routine March 13 (30 Red, 0 Blue)
Thurston Wolfe Winery, 588 Cabernet Court, Prosser, Routine March 13 (0 Red, 0 Blue)
Wingstop, 6505 Burden Blvd., Pasco, Routine March 9 (25 Red, 5 Blue)