Who didn’t make the grade in Merced County’s December food, restaurant inspections?
In a month of inspections abbreviated by the holiday season, only one Merced County food business earned a failing grade in a food-safety inspection in December from the county’s Environmental Health Division.
Three dozen restaurants, commissaries, markets and other food businesses across the county were inspected between Dec. 2 and Dec. 18. Twenty-eight of them received “good” ratings, including 15 where no violation points were noted. Seven scored “satisfactory” grades.
The county gives “good” ratings to businesses with six or fewer violation points, “satisfactory” ratings for seven to 13 violation points, and “unsatisfactory” ratings for 14 or more violation points.
The lone “unsatisfactory” rating was given to Liberty Market on B Street in Livingston, where a Dec. 2 inspection visit found several repeat violations from previous inspections:
- Sponges in a pan with tongs and another food-contact utensil in a sink, which is not permitted because the porous surface of sponges makes them difficult to sanitize.
- Water from a condenser line dripping into a cup from the meat refrigerator in the meat department.
- A non-functioning light fixture in the milk/egg refrigerator.
Those problems and others added up to 15 violation points for the market.
Businesses that received perfect scores with no violation points were:
- Sage Eats LLC in Atwater.
- Don Beto Mexican Food in Atwater
- Rite Aid Store 6379 in Livingston
- Subway Sandwich in Livingston.
- Carl’s Jr. Restaurant #7581 in Livingston.
- Sourdough & Co. in Los Banos.
- Italia Coffee & Bistro in Los Banos.
- Los Banos Liquor in Los Banos.
- Best Buy Market in Merced.
- Merced County Rescue Mission / MCRM Senior Meals Program in Merced.
- Merced County Office of Education - Cooper Central Kitchen in Merced.
- Cigarettes & Snacks in Merced.
- Franciscan Post-Acute Care Center in Merced.
- Santa Nella Travel Center in Santa Nella.
- Panda Express -Santa Nella Village in Santa Nella.
December was the second consecutive month in which only one business was dinged with an unsatisfactory inspection rating.
The inspections represent a snapshot of conditions found at the time of a visit and may not indicate a pattern of good or bad food safety practices.
In most instances, if an inspector finds a problem, it’s something that can be fixed on the spot. This can include having enough bleach or sanitizer in the water used to wipe down food-preparation areas, replenishing soap, paper towels and toilet paper in the restrooms, or reminding employees to wash their hands and wear gloves and hairnets.
But some violations are considered more serious and, in some instances, can result in immediate closure of restaurants or food businesses when they are observed by health inspectors. Those may include insect or vermin infestations; refrigerators that don’t keep food cold enough or steam tables that don’t keep food hot enough to inhibit bacterial growth, or clogged sinks or drains that cause contaminated water to back up into kitchens.
A lack of hot water is one of the most common violations that health inspectors find when they make their routine visits. Hot water at a temperature of at least 120 degrees is considered important by inspectors for safely washing pots, pans, dishes and glasses, and 100 degrees for employees to wash their hands.
Merced County’s Environmental Health Division maintains a database of restaurant and food inspections online for public viewing at its web page, www.countyofmerced.com/597/Environmental-Health; click the “Food Inspections” tab along the left side of the page.
This story was originally published January 8, 2025 at 2:28 PM.
