Fruit flies, black mold and more: This week’s Triangle sanitation scores (March 22)
The News & Observer publishes a weekly round-up of restaurant sanitation scores to keep you up-to-date on the health grades at Triangle spots.
Sanitation scores and their corresponding letter grades are used in North Carolina to assess restaurants’ adherence to rules and standards intended to mitigate and prevent the spread of foodborne illnesses.
You’ve likely seen sanitation grade cards at restaurants you’ve visited, and The N&O previously explained what those scores mean and how they’re calculated.
Here are sanitation scores in Wake, Durham, Orange and Johnston counties for the week of March 15-22.
Wake County sanitation scores
The Wake County sanitation grades database shows 100 restaurants that were inspected between March 15-22.
▪ Most restaurants received an A grade, or a score of at least 90%.
▪ Three restaurants received B grades, or a score of at least 80% but lower than 90%.
Okja K-Pub & Restaurant (1080 Darrington Dr., Cary) received a score of 86% during an inspection on March 15.
- The restaurant was in violation of 15 state standards, with point deductions ranging from zero to three points.
- Violations included the restaurant’s person in charge not having proper knowledge of cross-contamination, proper cold holding temperatures for food and hand contact with ready-to-eat foods; multiple foods being stored at too high of a temperature for cold foods and some foods not having proper date marking.
Some violations were corrected during the inspection, the inspection report shows.
The restaurant previously scored an 88.5% in November 2021, a 93% in June 2021 and a 94% in March 2021.
So Hot (1937 High House Rd., Cary) received a score of 86% during an inspection on March 16.
- The restaurant was in violation of 18 state standards, with point deductions ranging from zero to three points.
- Violations included “numerous” dishes with debris and stickers on them being stored as clean, multiple foods being stored at improper temperatures and some foods lacking proper date marking. Fruit flies were also present throughout the kitchen, and walls and floors throughout the establishment were “soiled with brown and black accumulation,” including black mold in the room adjacent to the kitchen.
Some violations were corrected during the inspection, the inspection report shows.
The restaurant previously scored a 90% during a re-inspection in September 2021, an 88.5% during an initial inspection in September 2021 and a 90% during an inspection in March 2021.
Sultan’s Deli (1459 Beaver Creek Commons Dr., Apex) received a score of 84.5% during an inspection on March 17.
- The restaurant was in violation of 17 state standards, with point deductions ranging from zero to three points.
- Violations included employees “switching between different tasks without washing their hands,” one employee not washing their hands long enough after handling raw chicken and numerous lids, utensils and containers being stored sticky food residue and debris.
Some violations were corrected during the inspection, the inspection report shows.
The restaurant previously scored an 88.5% in August 2021, an 89% in March 2021 and a 95% in December 2020.
▪ No restaurants in Wake County received a C grade, or a score of at least 70% but less than 80%.
▪ No restaurants received a failing grade, or a score below 70%.
You can search all restaurant inspections in Wake County by using the county’s inspection grades database at wake-nc.healthinspections.us.
Durham County sanitation scores
The Durham County inspection management system shows that 33 restaurant inspections were completed between March 15-22.
▪ Most restaurants received an A grade, or a score of at least 90%.
▪ One restaurant received a B grade, or a score of at least 80% but lower than 90%.
Vit Goal Tofu Restaurant (2107 Allendown Dr., Suite 101A, Durham) scored an 85% during an inspection on March 21.
The restaurant was in violation of 16 state standards, with point deductions ranging from zero to four points.
Violations included an employee washing single-use gloves instead of washing their hands or changing gloves, another employee scratching their hand multiples times and not washing their hands before moving food items in the fridge, several foods being stored without date markings and two employees not wearing proper hair restraints when preparing food.
Some violations were corrected during the inspection, the inspection report shows.
The restaurant previously scored a 90% in October 2021, and a 93.5% and 86.5% in January 2021.
▪ No restaurants in Durham County received a C grade, or a score of at least 70% but less than 80%.
▪ No restaurants received a failing grade, or a score below 70%.
You can search all restaurant inspections in Durham County using the county’s inspections database at bit.ly/3pVQfpG.
Orange County sanitation scores
The Orange County inspection management system shows that 20 restaurants were inspected between March 15-22.
▪ All 20 restaurants received an A grade, or a score of at least 90%.
You can search all restaurant inspections in Orange County using the county’s inspections database at bit.ly/3eQqpxc.
Johnston County sanitation scores
The Johnston County sanitation inspections database shows that 29 restaurants were inspected between March 8-15.
▪ All 29 restaurants received an A grade, or a score of at least 90%.
You can search all restaurant inspections in Johnston County using the county’s inspections database at johnston-nc.healthinspections.us.
This story was originally published March 22, 2022 at 11:49 AM with the headline "Fruit flies, black mold and more: This week’s Triangle sanitation scores (March 22)."
