Where inspectors found bed bugs, no hand washing, moldy wastewater in

With reports of bed bugs, employees not washing their hands, moldy wastewater, cross contamination risk, fresh rodent droppings and other violations, Kansas food safety and lodging inspectors reported nine local establishments were out of compliance with state law during September inspections.

Kansas law delegates to the Kansas Department of Agriculture the authority to regulate food establishments, food processing plants and lodging establishments. Violations — particularly priority violations linked to causes of foodborne illness — can lead to various consequences, including the immediate closure of an establishment.

Kansas Department of Agriculture records show that while most of th e nearly 100 total Topeka area service establishments inspected in September passed with either no violations or no serious ones, several failed. Most inspections were routine, but inspectors also visited after complaints, for licensing, follow-ups and other reasons.

Kansas food safety and lodging inspectors cited nine Topeka establishments for being out of compliance with state law in September.

Out-of-compliance food establishments in Topeka

The following establishments were listed as out of compliance with state law after inspections in September.

The Sept. 27 modified complaint inspection found six violations.

Four rooms were closed after inspectors found evidence of bed bugs and can’t be rented until inspectors have reopened them after treatment and cleaning. The lodging establishment did not notify regulators of the imminent health hazard of bed bugs and did not discontinue operations upon discovery of bed bugs. One of the rooms had Ortho bed bug spray not intended for commercial application.

The smoke detector in the hearing impaired room did not have a flashing strobe. Several rooms had accumulations of debris and trash.

A follow-up was scheduled for Oct. 7.

The Sept. 26 routine inspection found four violations.

Refrigeration equipment was not keeping milk, diced peaches, blueberries, crushed pineapple, sliced strawberries, raw cookie dough and a squeeze bottle of blueberries cold enough.

There were not chlorine test strips. There was a Raid spray can for ants and roaches that was not approved for a food establishment. A mop sink had a leaky valve.

A Sept. 20 routine inspection found six violations.

“No hand washing took place after getting the mobile unit set up and plugging in the equipment to thegenerator,” the inspector wrote.

The person in charge put disposable gloves over heat resistant cloth gloves and started to prepare orders, while another employee took orders and collected money before putting gloves on to prepare plates of food. Neither washed their hands, and there was no running water because the generator was not staying on.

Macaroni and cheese in a warmer unit was not kept hot enough. More than 20 flies were inside the mobile unit in the food preparation area, landing on in-use utensils and food contact surfaces. There were no net screens on doors to keep pests out, while doors were open for air flow. There were not quaternary test strips.

The establishment was back in compliance after a Sept. 24 reopening inspection.

A Sept. 18 routine inspection found nine violations.

“Mammy Cakes” in a refrigerated display cooler were not prepared at the facility and come “from a source off Facebook,” but were not “from approved licenses sources.”

The establishment “is using the back door to the facility to go in and out to cook fried foods due not having properventilation for grease laden vapors in the facility,” but there was no screen at the back door to prevent pests from entering when people go in and out. More than 15 flies were observed.

The refrigerator had raw chicken and raw beef stored on shelves above ready to eat food, including a head of lettuce, posing a cross contamination risk.

The garbage disposal was leaking, but a container under the sink was catching the wastewater — but the murky water in the container had mold growing on its surface, which had been getting dumped outside. One restroom had human feces in the toilet and the flushing handle had broken off the toilet.

The portable hand washing sink had no hot water and no hand soap, while a ware washing sink was being used for washing hands. A sanitizer container was not labeled.

The Sept. 17 complaint inspection found two violations.

Despite having a pest control service five days earlier and traps placed, the inspector found fresh rodent droppings under a shelf by the mop sink and behind a safe. At a wall adjacent to the outdoors, the baseboard behind the hot water tank had a 1.5 inch hole with fresh rodent droppings that the inspector recommended filling with steel wool or a pesticide spray foam.

The establishment was back in compliance after an Oct. 1 follow-up.

A Sept. 12 complaint inspection found four violations.

Cooked, breaded chicken pieces were being held in a container with a date mark past seven days, but the person in charge said the date mark was wrong and hadn’t been replaced. The inspector said used containers should not hold new food product without the container first being cleaned and sanitized.

The meat grinder that was supposedly clean had a grinding shaft with dry, hardened food stuck inside. The refrigerated food prep table was not keeping food cool enough, including noodles, cabbage and cooked shrimp. There was no written procedure for using time as a control for buffet food items.

The establishment remained out of compliance during a Sept. 24 follow-up inspection that found three violations.

The meat grinder had caked residue of ground meat stuck inside. The refrigerated food prep table was not keeping food cool enough, including cooked noodles and raw vegetables. Refrigerated cream cheese filling did not have a date mark.

The Sept. 6 first operational inspection after licensing found three violations.

The establishment had a residential refrigerator not intended for use in a commercial kitchen, where being next to the stove and opening and closing of the door compromises the temperature inside, which was not being kept cool enough. A container of oxtails inside was not kept cool enough.

There was no food thermometer. There were no sanitizer test strips.

The establishment was back in compliance after a Sept. 26 follow-up.

A Sept. 5 routine inspection found one violation.

The ware washing sink hot water was not hot enough, and they had been boiling water on the grill to wash dishes.

The establishment was back in compliance after a Sept. 16 follow-up.

A Sept. 4 routine inspection found one violations.

Hot water was not hot enough at the hand washing and ware washing sinks, and the hot water tank was awaiting repairs. After being educated by the inspector, they started using hot water from the coffee and tea brewer when washing dishes.

The establishment was back in compliance after a Sept. 5 follow-up.

Inspections found these Topeka establishments were in compliance

The following service establishments were in compliance when inspectors visited in September with either no violations or only relatively minor ones.

Chartwells at C-Store Washburn University, 1700 S.W. College Ave.
Jersey Mikes Subs, 2121 S.W. Wanamaker Road, Suite 115.
McDonald’s, 1640 S.W. Wanamaker Road.
Midland Care Connection Topeka PACE Center, 2134 S.W. Westport Drive.
Gage Park Mini Train, 635 S.W. Gage Blvd.
Snouthern’s Food Truck, 4307 S.W. 30th St.
Wicked Porkwich, 6408 S.W. 27th St.
BP Gas Station, 5977 S.W. 29th St.
Cold Stone Creamery, 1227 S.W. Wanamaker Road.
Hummer Sports Park – Football Visitor, 501 S.W. Tuffy Kellogg Drive.
Norsemen Brewing Co., 830 N. Kansas Ave.
Pizza Hut, 1700 S.W. Wanamaker Road, Suite 150.
Topeka West High School, 2001 Fairlawn.
Cair Paravel Latin School, 635 Clay St.
Kwik Shop, 4500 S.W. Topeka Blvd.
Mater Dei School, 934 S.W. Clay.
Monsoon Indian Grill, 2040 S.W. Wanamaker Road, Suite 104.
North Fairview Elementary School, 1941 N.E. 39th St.
Robinson Middle School, 1125 S.W. 14th.
Tony’s Quick Shop, 1107 S.W. Sixth Ave.
Whitson Elementary School, 1725 Arnold.
Berryton Elementary School, 2921 S.E. 69th Street, Berryton.
El Dorado Mexican Grille & Cantina, 4745 Hunters Ridge Circle, Suite D & E.
Lowman Hill Elementary School, 1101 Garfield.
Specks Bar & Grill, 2105 Mission Ave.
Washburn University Lincoln Dining, 1801 College Ave.
BP Gas Station-Greyhound Bus Lines, 600 S.E. Quincy.
Chase Middle School/State Street Elementary, 2250 State.
Landon Middle School, 731 Fairlawn.
Meadows Elementary School, 201 S.W. Clay.
RC Kettle Corn, 3834 S.E. Howard Drive.
McDonald’s, 2880 S.E. California Ave.
Auburn Elementary School, 810 N. Commercial, Auburn.
Chipotle Mexican Grill, 2040 S.W. Wanamaker Road, Suite 103.
Gayle’s, 600 Paramore St.
Johnny’s Tavern, 2821 S.W. Fairlawn Drive.
Pauline Central Primary School, 6625 S.W. Westview.
Washburn Rural Middle School, 5620 S.W. 61st.
China Panda Kitchen Buffet, 5826 S.W. 21st St.
Rossville Elementary School, 312 E. Pottawatomie, Rossville.
Topeka High School, 800 10th.
2 Chefs Catering, 2518 S.W. 17th St.
Burger King, 2110 N.W. Topeka Blvd.
Olive Bodega, 935 S. Kansas Ave.
Everyday Saturday BBQ, 5655 N.W. 35th St.
Kona Ice, 6215 S.W. 24th Terrace.
Eisenhower Middle School, 3305 S.E. Minnesota.
Happy Basset Brewing Company, 510 S.W. 49th St.
Heartland Nutrition, 2003 S.W. Gage Blvd.
Rossville High School, 800 S. Main PO Box 158, Rossville.
Springhill Suites, 2745 S.W. Fairlawn Road.
Williams Magnet School, 1301 S.E. Monroe.
Shawnee Heights High School, 4201 Shawnee Heights Road., Tecumseh.
Shawnee Heights Middle School, 4335 S.E. Shawnee Heights Road., Tecumseh.
Tecumseh North Elementary School, 314 S.E. Stanton Road., Tecumseh.
Tecumseh South Elementary School, 3346 S.E. Tecumseh Road., Tecumseh.
Walmart, 2630 California Ave.
Washburn Institute of Technology, 5724 Huntoon.
Dollar Tree, 2180 S.W. Wanamaker Road.
HuHot Mongolian Grill, 5900 Huntoon Road, Suite E.
Linn Education Center School, 200 S.E. 40th St.
Noodles & Company World Kitchen, 2110 S.W. Wanamaker Road.
Pauline South Intermediate School, 7035 S.W. Morrill Road., Wakarusa.
Wings Etc. Grill & Pub, 2139 S.W. Fairlawn Plaza Drive.
Happy Basset Brewing Co., 6044 29th St.
Hayden High School, 401 Gage Blvd.
McDonald’s, 3530 N.W. 46th St.
McDonald’s, 1100 S. Kansas Ave.
Oleander, 714 S.W. Gage Blvd.
Poppin’ Minis, 4708 S.E. Freemont St.
McDonald’s, 5525 S.W. 21st St.
Most Pure Heart of Mary School, 1750 Stone.
Randolph Elementary School, 1400 Randolph.
Chez Yasu, 2701 S.W. 17th St.
Denny’s, 3210 S.W. Topeka Blvd.
Highland Park Central Elementary School, 2717 Illinois.
Holiday Inn Express & Suites, 901 Robinson Ave.
McDonald’s, 2911 Wanamaker Road.
Northern Hills Elementary School, 5620 N.W. Topeka Blvd.
Papa Murphy’s, 2037 N.W. Topeka, Suite B.
Pleasant Hill Learning Campus School, 5830 N.W. Topeka.
Seaman High School, 4850 N.W. Rochester Road.
Seaman Middle School, 5530 N.W. Topeka Blvd.
St. Matthew’s Catholic School, 1000 28th St.
Abigails, 3701 S.W. Plaza Drive.
Chipotle Mexican Grill, 2001 S.E. 28th St.
Shaner Early Learning Academy, 1600 S.W. 34th St.
Soul Fire Food Company, 2305 S.E. Carnahan.

Jason Alatidd is a Statehouse reporter for The Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached by email at jalatidd@gannett.com. Follow him on X @Jason_Alatidd.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas food safety and lodging September inspection results for Topeka

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