Deli meat too warm, no hot water. Failed Tri-Cities food inspections
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Benton Franklin Health District reported seven failing food inspections May 23–29.
- Worst score was 115 of the more serious red points.
- Thirty inspections passed during the week, with 19 achieving perfect scores.
The Benton Franklin Health District gave seven failing grades for food safety inspections at restaurants and other establishments selling food in the Tri-Cities area from May 23-29.
The health district’s food safety team gave passing marks on 30 inspections, with 19 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
Don Taco, 110 S. Fourth Ave., Pasco, Routine May 26 (85 Red, 0 Blue)
Notes: Improper cooling procedures; lack of adequate active managerial control; cold holding temperatures >45°F; improper room temperature storage; lack of compliance with permit; toxic substances not properly identified or used.
Fiesta Foods (Bakery), 115 S. 10th Ave., Pasco, Routine May 27 (65 Red, 0 Blue)
Notes: Improper cooling procedures (flan was discarded); lack of adequate active managerial control; improper room temperature storage (empanadas of pumpkin were discarded); inadequate handwashing facilities (no hot water, but the water heater pump was being fixed during inspection).
Fiesta Foods (Deli), 115 S. 10th Ave., Pasco, Routine May 27 (115 Red, 5 Blue)
Notes: Lack of adequate active managerial control; no hot water for handwashing sinks (store maintenance worked to fix the water heater system during the inspection); improper ill worker policy (worker was wearing a cover on one finger that was swollen and was told to wear a clean glove over it); hands not washed as required (worker touched face, hair and ears while working with food using utensils); improper cooling procedures; hot holding temperatures <135°F (scrambled eggs with hot dogs in steam table was 110°F).
La Cocina (Kiosk), 720 N. 20th Ave., Pasco, Routine May 28 (40 Red, 0 Blue)
Notes: Hot holding temperatures <135°F (steamed vegetables in hot holding as cool as 98°F); lack of compliance with permit (establishment serving smoothies with raw eggs if requested by customer); no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked foods (eggs in smoothies).
Mexico Lindo & Que Rico, 1819 W. Court St., Pasco, Follow-up May 27 (35 Red, 0 Blue)
Notes: Cold holding temperatures too warm (eggs in cold holding on ice were 60°F and should have been 41°F or colder); improper room temperature storage (salsa as warm as 68°F and should have been 41°F or colder).
MyFroYo, 4803 Clemente Lane, Pasco, Routine May 27 (70 Red, 3 Blue)
Notes: Lack of adequate managerial control; hands not washed as required (worker put on gloves to work with ready-to-eat foods without washing hands); food worker cards not available; toxic substances not properly identified (window cleaner in unlabeled spray bottle); bare hand contact with ready-to-eat foods (worker adjusting spoons and scoops for self-service topping touched toppings with bare hands).
Silver Dollar Lunchbox, 200 Hanford St., Richland, Routine May 27 (75 Red, 14 Blue)
Notes: No certified food protection manager on staff; toxic substances not identified (no labels on containers of bleach solution and cleaning solution); cold holding temperatures too warm (sliced tomatoes, shredded lettuce and deli meats in prep cooler as warm as 49°F and should have been 41°F or cooler); room temperature storage (large can of mushrooms as warm as 54°F and should have been 41°F or colder); hands not washed as required (worker entered food truck and started putting on gloves to make sandwiches without washing hands).
Passed inspections
1219 Thayer Building, 1219 Thayer Drive, Richland, Routine May 29 (10 Red, 0 Blue)
Apaez Shellfish, 2120 E. Lewis St., Pasco, Routine May 24 (5 Red, 0 Blue)
Bruchi’s, 1840 W. Court St., Pasco, Follow-up May 27 (0 Red, 0 Blue)
Carmichael Middle School, 620 Thayer Drive, Richland, Routine May 29 (0 Red, 0 Blue)
Dollar General, 920 N. 20th Ave., Pasco, Routine May 28 (0 Red, 0 Blue)
Don Taco, 110 S. Fourth Ave., Pasco, Follow-up May 27 (0 Red, 0 Blue)
Edwin Markham Elementary School, 4031 Elm Road, Pasco, Routine May 27 (0 Red, 0 Blue)
Fairchild Cinemas, 5020 68th Place, Pasco, Routine May 27 (10 Red, 0 Blue)
Fiesta Foods, 115 S. 10th Ave., Pasco, Routine May 27 (Caterer 0 Red, 0 Blue) (Fiesta Fruits 0 Red, 5 Blue) (Kiosk 0 Red, 0 Blue) (Meat 15 Red, 0 Blue)
Hanford High School, 450 Hanford St., Richland, Routine May 29 (0 Red, 0 Blue)
Headstart, 205 S. Wehe Ave., Pasco, Routine May 27 (0 Red, 3 Blue)
Headstart, 6215 Burden Blvd., Pasco, Routine May 27 (0 Red, 0 Blue)
Heavenly Sweets, 5651 W. 36th Place, Kennewick, Routine May 26 (10 Red, 0 Blue)
La Cocina, 720 N. 20th Ave., Pasco, Routine May 28 (10 Red, 5 Blue)
Legacy High School Day Care, 4624 W. 10th Ave., Kennewick, Routine May 28 (0 Red, 0 Blue)
Mark Twain Elementary School, 1801 Road 40, Pasco, Routine May 27 (0 Red, 3 Blue)
Papa Murphy’s Pizza, 1332 Jadwin Ave., Richland, Routine May 26 (0 Red, 0 Blue)
Sacajawea Elementary School, 535 Fuller St., Richland, Routine May 29 (0 Red, 0 Blue)
Safeway (Store), 1330 N. 20th Ave., Pasco, Routine May 28 (0 Red, 0 Blue)
Sausage Daddy, 212 W. Kennewick Ave., Kennewick, Routine May 23 (0 Red, 0 Blue)
Stay A Round Donuts & Pies, 1020 N. Colorado St., Kennewick, Routine May 27 (5 Red, 0 Blue)
Subway, 1323 Lee Blvd., Richland, Routine May 26 (0 Red, 0 Blue)
Super Mex El Pueblo Market, 720 N. 20th Ave., Pasco, Routine May 28 (Bakery 0 Red, 0 Blue) (Meat 0 Red, 0 Blue)
Three Margaritas, 627 Jadwin Ave., Richland, Routine May 26 (0 Red, 5 Blue)
Three Rivers Home Link, 1710 Van Giesen St., Richland, Routine May 29 (0 Red, 0 Blue)
Wendy’s, 2311 W. Court St., Pasco, Follow-up May 27 (0 Red, 0 Blue)
