16-05-2025
ABQ BioPark corrects issues after getting red flagged on food inspections
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – They'll be some of the most popular places in Albuquerque for snacks and ice cream this summer, now the ABQ BioPark is making changes inside a handful of zoo cafes after food inspectors hit their kitchens with red and yellow tags.
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'So, the red flags you guys saw were just momentary red flags, and all those actions were minor and corrected that day,' said Brandon Gibson, director of the ABQ Bio Park.
Right in the heart of the Albuquerque zoo, the popular Cottonwood Cafe was hit with a red tag after the City of Albuquerque's Environmental Health Department's Food Inspection Team found ten different violations, including problems like food holding at the wrong temperature. It's one of three eateries recently cited for issues the Bio Park said it quickly moved to resolve. 'None of them were safety issues or food health issues, and mostly education for staff, making sure staff,' said Gibson.
Out of the 11 cafes in zoo, The Cottonwood Cafe, The Africa exhibit's Matunda Cafe, and Penguin Chill Cafe were all flagged each for between 10 and 16 issues each ranging from food storage to chemical storage issues and employee sanitation protocols. 'No restaurants here at the Bio Park were closed; all of the citations were very minor and correctable within the site visit. All of our restaurants have passed, and the Bio Park is a safe place to come, a safe place to eat,' he said.
Since the inspections, the Bio Park said it has made corrections alongside the food service operator, Service System Associates or SSA. 'We were notified immediately about the potential flags and also the correction that day, and there's going to be follow-up as well. But we've been in talks and making sure they also have the tools and resources that they need to maintain compliance,' said Gibson.
With a majority of its food staff being younger in age, the Bio Park said it's going through extra staff training. 'We will do a late-night training here just so all the brand-new hires working on these areas understand those environmental health standards,' said Gibson.
The system worked, and our inspectors helped the restaurants learn what they were doing wrong. One service that Environmental Health provides is education for restaurant workers, and in these cases, our staff was able to educate SSA's staff so they learned about proper sanitation. We did warn the restaurants about these minor issues, but we also helped them fix the issues so they were in compliance by the time our inspectors left, and we did not have to close the facilities. Our team will follow up with SSA to make sure they don't have any issues moving forward.
Mark DiMenna, Deputy Director, Environmental Health Department
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