Inadequate hand-washing practices and unsanitary meat handling, among other violations, earned local chain BK Tacos’ North First Avenue location a “probationary” rating from the county health department Wednesday.
The county inspector found eight critical violations, most of which were resolved or addressed on-site.
The inspector found meats kept below established temperatures for hot food, observed a BK employee handle a garbage can with gloves and then clean them off with dishwashing sprayer before returning to work, the same employee washing hands without soap, and cooked ribs ready for eating being placed on a cutting board covered with raw meat juices.
Additionally, the dish sanitizer tested negative for sanitizer three times, some food was stored without dates, and several bottles of cleaning supplies were stored without proper labeling.
Daphne Diaz, a BK shift supervisor, said the problems, which she described as “minor,” are “already fixed.” She added that a re-inspection is scheduled for Monday, and that all of the restaurant’s staff have been registered for the next available food safety class in July “so that this doesn’t happen anymore.”
The BK location, at 2680 N. First Ave., has received mostly “good” and “excellent” ratings since 2006, though it has received two “needs improvement” ratings. The most recent inspection was its first “probationary” rating, which was until recently known as a “provisional” rating.
