Health Checks from the Bergen Record

[Rosie]

June 8

http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=e...UVFeXk2Mzg4NzI1

[Rosie]

June 15--Recognize any names?

CLICK HERE: http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=e...UVFeXk2MzkxNjc4

[Rosie]

JUne 22

Click Here: http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=e...UVFeXk2Mzk0Mjgz

[Rail Paul]

JUne 22

Click Here:  http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=e...UVFeXk2Mzk0Mjgz

A fine of $390 for multiple violations seems pretty low.

Failure to clean a slicer, placing raw meat and cooked meat together, storing a cutting knife with food debris, etc sounds like fairly high risk actions.

Maybe they ought to be required to post the violations on their front door for a month...

[Rosie]

Anyone eat at Seoul Seoul in Ridgefield?? Read the latest here.

http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=e...UVFeXk2Mzk2ODQy

[Rosie]

Health Checks from 7/6 can be found here:

http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=e...2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk3

[Rosie]

Health Checks from 7/13

http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=e...UVFeXk2NDAyMDc2

[Rosie]

Health Checks 7/20

Anyone familiar with any of these places?

http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=e...UVFeXk2NDA0NjE5

[Rosie]

7/27

UH-OH---Our favorite eGullet Chinese restaurant made the list.

http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=e...2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk3

[menton1]

Wow, Balthazar Bakery made the list too;

It's amazing that some popular NJ restaurants open for years have NEVER been on this list, yet others are cited. What happened to pride and discipline in running a restaurant? Why should these places need the stick of the health department to run a kitchen that's sanitary and safe for consumption? I think making this list is unforgivable!

[Jason Perlow]

A lot of these are likely bullshit violations. Often something relatively innocuous as a puddle of water in a back room from a leaky pipe can be a Conditional. The really serious violations get the place closed down immediately. I'd be more interested in what the details are in any of these.

[tommy]

I'd be more interested in what the details are in any of these.

and i couldn't be less interested in the details of these minor violations in particular. this stuff is useless to me. perhaps some put more stock in them.

[Jason Perlow]

I'd be more interested in what the details are in any of these.

and i couldn't be less interested in the details of these minor violations in particular. this stuff is useless to me. perhaps some put more stock in them.

Right, a minor violation is a minor violation. If a place gets shut down thats a different story.

[Rail Paul]

When I lived in Clifton, my local deli had mold on some of its display salads. For weeks at a time. I'm not sure I'd place a whole lot of trust in the health department's investigations. Like the building inspector, they only show up if somebody requests their presence. It's not like they go out looking for illegal subdivisions with 33 unpapered immigrants living in the basement or anything.

Which reminds me, aren't we about due for another NY health department expose of inspectors taking bribes to ignore violations? We get them about every five years, with the building inspectors in alternate years.

[glenn]

Does each county do their own inspection and have different regulations, or is it regulated by the state? If by the state, how often is each establishment required to be inspected?

[sort of loosely related, in NYC the health dept. is in a place in a flash if they get a complaint, including minor ones. Same with Dept. of Consumer Affairs, especially if they get a complaint about an outdoor cafe violation (they see dollar signs). So if you ever wanna get even with the place that served you smelly fish..... :-)]

[menton1]

Like the building inspector, they only show up if somebody requests their presence. It's not like they go out looking for illegal subdivisions with 33 unpapered immigrants living in the basement or anything.

In Bergen County, that just isn't true. There are 70 municipalities, each with their own health inspectors. This allows them a full awareness of all the food establishments in the community. A friend who has a coffee shop told me that their inpections are irregular, but continual and not due to a complaint. This localization allows all establishments to be inspected regularly.

It would be a lot better for the Record to publish the nature of the violation-- so we could decide how minor we think it is. Someone mentioned a puddle due to a leak; I guess they are expected to provide a bucket to fill up rather than have it go all over the floor.

As with most things, I'm sure politics plays a part in these inspections; however, a food establishment appearing on the list should at the least provide further details-- the vision of rodents and insects pervading a kitchen passes through the mind....

[jpr54_]

When I have found a restaurant /supermarket that I frequently purchase services- I mention that they werecited in Bergen Record and most businesses will explain to you why-

even Whole Foods in Edgewater made the list one week-

Joanne

[Rosie]

Health Checks 8/3

Click Here http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=e...UVFeXk2NDA5Njcx

[Rail Paul]

Like the building inspector, they only show up if somebody requests their presence. It's not like they go out looking for illegal subdivisions with 33 unpapered immigrants living in the basement or anything.

In Bergen County, that just isn't true. There are 70 municipalities, each with their own health inspectors. This allows them a full awareness of all the food establishments in the community. A friend who has a coffee shop told me that their inpections are irregular, but continual and not due to a complaint. This localization allows all establishments to be inspected regularly.

Perhaps not in Bergen County, but definitely in some Essex County communities. The code enforcement official for one town was even quoted in the Ledger as saying it wasn't his business to count how many illegal tenants were in the house before it burned to the ground. He said the "only way I know if there's a problem is when people call."

I called the Health Dept to complain about one store (mold visible on various salad displays for several weeks) and was told they'd get somebody out immediately. They did, too. That afternoon the salad display was completely empty.

[scarlet knight]

Does anyone know what the violation was at China 46 to get the conditional rating?

[tommy]

Does anyone know what the violation was at China 46 to get the conditional rating?

i heard they got caught with a leaky faucet. :shudder:

[jpr54_]

balthazar outlet bakery had appeared in the record health checks-

first conditional and then satisfactory-

i was there this afternoon and bought some bread-white sourdough, pain au chocolat, and baquette-

i decided to ask why they were on the list-

one of the owners-don't know his name a gentleman with irish brogue came out from bakery and very nastily told me i didn't have any right to know why they had made the list-

he refused to tell me what the violations were besides something to do with large doors-

he said it was none of my business-i told him it was and he refused to answer any more questions-

i had already paid for my items otherwise i would have left-i will not return

there were no other customers in store-

joanne

[scarlet knight]

If he wanted to keep you as a customer, he would have explained the violation to you and what the bakery did to correct it. To take his attitude that he doesn't have to tell you makes one wonder how bad the violation is. Perhaps another e-gullet poster knows what they did. If you are curious, call the Englewood health department and I'm sure that they will tell you.

[byoung]

My name is B. Young; I'm the production manager at Balthazar Bakery in Englewood. I'm very sorry to read that Joanne was treated rudely in our shop. Health Department inspections are stressful even for businesses that are fastidious about cleanliness and food safety, as we are, and Joanne's question must have elicited some of that tension from my colleague. She was quite right to ask about our "Conditional" rating, as the standards upheld by the Health Department are the proper concern of all our customers. To Joanne I apologize on behalf of all the bakers of Balthazar.

Before July 9th, we had never received a visit from the Englewood Health Department. (We received a satisfactory rating from the State of New Jersey Department of Health in January 2001, shortly after we established our production bakery in Englewood.) The "Conditional" rating is the placard the health department assigns during the two-week or so period between their initial visit and their return to see that you have complied with their recommendations. We received our "Satisfactory" placard on July 30th.

In the meantime, we took steps to correct the problems noted by the inspectors. For instance, I've ordered a curtain-door to cover our large rolling door, so that even when we are receiving deliveries, there will be a barrier to prevent flies entering the bakery. We've also installed a small display refrigerator in our retail shop so we can keep cool a few of our tarts that the inspectors worried would be prone to spoilage, although we sell everything the day it is made, and have never had a problem with the tarts going bad. We've also repaired broken tile in our dishroom and installed new screens in a few windows.

At Balthazar we practice a traditional craftsmanship informed by generations of practice. Our commitment to the highest ideals of quality and customer service inform everything we do. We don't dump preservatives or chemical stablizers into our baked goods; we don't buy prepared mixes or liquid pasteurized eggs; we don't suffocate our work in plastic bags. Any of these shortcuts would be welcomed by health departments, which focus their concern on preventing food-borne illness. But mass-produced chemical-laden bread can lead to illness of a different kind, to my way of thinking, and we hope to offer an alternative to our customers, whose pleasure and nourishment is our foremost priority.

If anyone would like more information about our health department inspections, I will be pleased to open our files for your review.

B. Young

wyoung@balthazarbakery.com

[scarlet knight]

Very classy of Balthazar to repond to Joanne's inquiry. I am tired of businesses that treat their customers like an inconvenience rather than the reason that there is a business. Glad to see Balthazar make the effort to turn it around.