A Tucson supermarket has been allowed to resume its meat-cutting operation after it was halted following several health violations, Pima County health inspection records show.
A May 25 county health inspection at Grantstone Supermarket, 8 W. Grant Road, found dead crayfish, crusty meat knives, and food stored near toxic chemicals, among other infractions, according to an inspection report that shows 10 critical violations.
Many of the violations centered in the meat department. The inspector found packages covered in blood and juices from other meat products, no hand-washing station, knives βheavily encrusted with meat debris,β βpots with cooked moldy food,β and dead crayfish on the floor, the report says.
Meat department employees were seen handling raw meats and then handling other store items without first washing their hands. Knives and other utensils were being washed, but not sanitized. There was also no hand sink in the vegetable trimming area, and pickled eggs were left unrefrigerated though their packaging clearly stated they should be.
βDue to the filthy state of the meat department, it is clear that the operator lacks food safety knowledge,β the inspector wrote.
The market was ordered to cease meat cutting operations until passing a reinspection.
The market passed an inspection on Monday, which was confirmed by the county in an email Tuesday.
βThat all was taken care of. Everything is OK,β manager Mary Bonillas said Monday of the 10 violations found in late May, adding: βThe employees also know that they have to keep up.β
The grocery store last failed an inspection in August 2015, when eight critical violations were found.
The facility failed to address all of the violations at its first follow-up inspection 10 days later, but passed on the next.
Prior to that, Grantstone had generally received ratings of βgood,β along with a handful of βneeds improvementβ and follow-up inspections since the early 2000s, according to county data available online.
