Old meat, mold on food and equipment at a Miami-Dade Presidente Supermarket

Miami Herald

5 days ago

Deli meat that's too old, and produce and equipment with mold and roaches that took kitchen processing areas out of action caused a Miami Gardens Presidente Supermarket to fail Monday's state inspection.
Before Monday, the Presidente at 18350 NW Seventh Ave. hadn't had a full inspection since July 27, 2022. And that was a re-inspection after an earlier one here, the sixth of seven of the chain grocery stores that failed inspection in June and July 2022.
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While state restaurant inspectors can shut down places for failing inspection, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services inspectors don't possess such temporary death penalty powers. But the inspectors of grocers, sellers of packaged foods, retail and wholesale bakeries, food processing and food storage plants can put Stop Use Orders on areas of the business and equipment.
Inspectors Pedro Llanos and Kaitlyn Ford employed those powers Monday after finding this:
'Bagged chopped lettuce displayed in the produce area was found with red, mold-like substances.' Two 10-ounce bags of Fresh Express lettuce got smacked with Stop Sales.
In the deli area, Jennie-O low sodium turkey breast displayed in the reach-in display cooler had been opened on July 16. Monday was Aug. 11. That's 26 days or 19 days past when the turkey should have been trashed. Stop Sale on the turkey.
'Deli meats including viking ham, turkey pastrami, old fashioned ham and mortadella were displayed inside the reach-in display cooler without date labels, and the correct date could not be determined.' Stop Sale on all that deli meat.
Live roaches were seen 'on the floor next to the customer service counter near the cafeteria,' 'on the floor and walls in the dry storage room' in the back and 'on a wall behind a prep table' in the kitchen. The inspectors carpet-bombed the kitchen area with Stop Use Orders on 'all exposed food processing areas' in the kitchen and 'all processing equipment and utensils.'
'Numerous small, flying insects' were seen in the kitchen, produce, meat, seafood, cafe and product receiving areas.
The handwash sink next to the produce area's three-compartment sink lacked a way to dry your hands.
'Buckets of cooked black beans stored inside the kitchen walk-in cooler were not covered.'
'Black mold-like substances' were spotted on the interior ledge inside a kitchen ice machine and the seafood area ice machine. The seafood area's ice machine was similarly defiled.
Seafood area table saws in use since 8 a.m. hadn't been washed, rinsed and sanitized as of 1 p.m. That should have happened by noon as equipment should get the full cleaning treatment every four hours of use.
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The reach-in coolers holding things like milk, bacon, cheese and the like needs to keep the food at or under 41 degrees to keep them from being bacteria breeding boats.
Ambient temperature of the reach-in coolers next to the cafeteria: 42 to 59 degrees. Stop Use Order on a 92-foot section of the cooler.
A monsoon of Stop Sales took out butter, cheese, yogurt, plant milk, milk, sausage, bacon, hot dogs and salted fish. Bean sprouts in the reach-in produce cooler got hit, too.
Back in the kitchen, the drainboards weren't 'large enough to accommodate all soiled items.'
No one apparently took a wet wiping cloth — one from the sanitizing solution, not the one sitting on a prep table — to the ice machine, ovens and door jambs on the hot holding unit, all dirtied with 'heavy grease and soil buildup.' Also, there were 'soil and debris on shelves, under prep tables, the stove, and ovens.'
Not only was the seafood area handwash sink faucet 'leaking and in disrepair' but the plumbing to the three-compartment sink wasn't connected, so it was 'draining directly on the floor.'
The backroom area, the produce area and the kitchen area all were marred with a 'heavy accumulation of soil and debris on floor and walls in dry storage room' of the backroom area, the kitchen floor, walls and ceiling and the produce area floor and walls.
The backroom area also had 'deep holes in walls and the floor next to the bakery cooler; near the entrance door adjacent to seafood area; at the produce area entrance; at the produce cooler; and in the dry storage room.' Also, 'stained and missing ceiling tiles throughout the area.'
The kitchen, meat and seafood areas had 'deep holes in the walls and the floor.'