Two Merced County restaurants show improvement in latest food inspections

All six Merced County food business that were visited by Merced County Division of Environmental Health inspectors between Aug. 12 and Aug. 28 passed inspection. Two of those business inspected during the timeframe had failed their previous inspections.

Businesses receive a “good” rating if they accumulate zero to six violation points during an inspection. Businesses that accumulate seven to 13 points receive a rating of “satisfactory,” while businesses that accumulate 14 points or greater, receive a rating of “unsatisfactory.”

Violations range in severity from minor to major. Major violations are “violations that are very likely to get people sick” and must be corrected immediately or the business, or parts of the business must close until the issue is corrected, according to the Merced County Division of Environmental Health. If a business is found to have failed an inspection, a reinspection is required at a later date.

Violations that are deemed minor are “violations that are likely to get people sick but does not require the location to close,” according to the Merced County Division of Environmental Health.

Five of the six businesses inspected received a “good” rating and one received a rating of “satisfactory.” Of the inspected businesses, four had zero violations, while one business received one point for a violation and the other received seven points for a violation.

Villa’s Taqueria, 225 Mercey Springs Road Ste. C in Los Banos received “satisfactory” rating with seven violation points on Aug. 25.

• An inspector observed a refrigerator near a stove that measured 57 degrees Fahrenheit while the kitchen’s ambient temperature was recorded to be 85 degrees. It was noted that the refrigerator was to be evaluated and repaired to keep food below 41 degrees. Chicken observed to have a temperature of 54 degrees F, was voluntarily destroyed and all food within 10 degrees of proper operating temperature was moved to a working refrigerator. 
• An inspector noted on Aug. 29, that the refrigerator was repaired. 

The location previously received an “unsatisfactory” rating with 21 points in July.

Starbucks Coffee,5 E. 23rd St. in Merced received “good” rating with one violation point on Aug. 26.

• An inspector noted that walls and ceilings should have durable, smooth, nonabsorbent light colored and washable surfaces. All surfaces that are not customer service areas shall be smooth, durable and nonabsorbent material making it easy to clean. Approved base coverings shall be provided on all areas except customer service areas and areas where food is stored in unopened containers. Food facilities should be fully enclosed. 
• An inspector observed an air curtain that was not interlocked with a pass through window at the time of inspection. The business was instructed to complete the interlock.
• The men’s restroom floor was observed to not smoothly transition to a covered transition strip. The business was instructed to repair the transition so that is smooth with no pockets where debris can become trapped. 

Bag O’ Crab MC LLC, located at 455 W. Olive Ave. in Merced, received a “good” rating on Aug. 28, with zero violations. The location had previously received an “unsatisfactory” rating with 31 points in July.

The other businesses that received perfect scores with no violations were:

• Valley Eats,1997 W. Olive Ave. in Merced.
• Wendy’s, 503 Pacheco Blvd. in Los Banos
• Great America Gas &amp located at 1312 Court. St. in Livingston.

In some instances, a problem that is found by an inspector can sometimes be fixed during the time of inspection. In other instances violations observed by health inspectors are deemed more serious and could result in the closure of the business at the time of inspection.

These inspections represent a snapshot of conditions observed by health inspectors at the time of their visit and may not indicate a pattern of good or bad safety practices.

A database of Merced County Environmental Health Division restaurant and food inspections can be found online at the Merced County Environmental Health website.