By Heather Sullivan - bio | email
RICHMOND, VA (WWBT) - Your refrigerator at home might be stocked with food in no particular order. But in a restaurant, where foods are placed in the fridge is very important to make sure you stay healthy when you eat out.
Sweet Peas Café at 9960 Mayland Drive in Henrico is known for gourmet food and sandwiches and has had good health inspections in the past. Manager Flo Brown-White tells us, "We are fresh every morning, homemade soups, salads and speciality sandwiches. And we're real loveable and fun!" she laughs.
But the café had 4 critical violations on a recent inspection, including that raw ground beef was stored over ready-to-eat food in the refrigerator. The health department says that can result in the meat juice cross contaminating other foods. Brown-White showed how the refrigerator has since been carefully reorganized, "It should have been at the bottom. We've reorganized it back down there."
Brown-White also had the refrigerator and the sandwich prep fridge repaired to make sure they keep food at proper temperatures. She said, "As you can see now, it's real cold, so it's holding everything at the proper temperature now."
Brown-White says all violations are corrected and they work hard to make sure everything is done right. "It's very important because it symbolizes who I am because I'm in the back, preparing everything. I like stuff fresh and quality so that Sweet Peas is Sweet Peas."
In Richmond, Red House II at 1202 Azalea Avenue had 5 critical violations. The report says butcher knives were soiled to sight and touch. All violations were corrected during the inspection. We contacted Red House II but did not receive comment.
And in Chesterfield, Don Papa Grande at 12806 Jefferson Davis Highway also had five critical violations. The report says employees handled ready-to-eat tortillas, taco salad bowls, and cheese with their bare hands. All violations were corrected for a spotless follow-up inspection two weeks later. We did not receive comment from the restaurant.
(c) 2010. WWBT, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
WWBT-TV NBC 12
