An Ala Moana restaurant has been fined $11,000 for violations that include intentionally removing its food safety placard over a two-day period last month. A notice of violation and order was issued against Iyo Udon in part for removing a yellow “CONDITIONAL PASS” placard from its facility from Saturday, Aug. 23, through Sunday, Aug. 24, 2014. The placard was reposted on Monday, Aug. 25, according to the department. “The inspector just happened to be shopping in the area on the weekend and is the one who actually did the inspection, so he knew right off the bat they were suppose to be a yellow card posted and they didn’t,” said Peter Oshiro, DOH Sanitation, Food & Drug and Vector Control Branch Manager Iyo Udon is located on the mauka side of Ala Moana Shopping Center at 1450 Ala Moana Blvd. “Placard removal is a serious violation with substantial consequences because this act intentionally places profit above health and safety and compromises the public’s trust and their right to know when violations occur during an inspection,” Oshiro said. “Our object is not to penalize the restaurants and hanging in their window forever. It’s to have raid correction of these food-borne illness risk factors.” Oshiro said this is our first incident involving tampering with a placard. On Friday, Aug. 22, 2014, DOH conducted a routine inspection at Iyo Udon and issued a yellow placard for seven major food code violations. A yellow placard is issued if there are two or more major violations observed during an inspection. Major violations are those conditions known to cause foodborne illnesses as recognized by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The department says that placard was removed by the facility manager and not an authorized DOH agent. Iyo Udon was cited for improper employee health and hygiene violations including employees not properly their washing hands, hand washing conducted in sinks reserved for food preparation, hand washing sinks blocked and inaccessible, no soap or paper towels available at hand washing areas, ready-to-eat foods not protected from cross-contamination by raw uncooked foods, and no sanitizer used to disinfect dishes. DOH conducted a follow-up inspection on Monday, Aug. 25, and Iyo Udon corrected all seven major violations and five good retail practice violations. A green placard is currently posted at the facility. The company may request a hearing to contest the notice. Of the more than 6,000 food establishments in Hawaii, including school cafeterias, lunch wagons, supermarkets and restaurants, Oshiro says about 500 have been inspected so far with 143 yellow cards posted and no red cards
Posted on: Tue, 30 Sep 2014 09:19:42 +0000
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