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Employees not washing hands or wearing hair restraints: Latest Stanislaus County inspections

Restaurant inspection
Monthly restaurant inspections

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The majority of the 2,400 permitted food service establishments in the county receive two unannounced routine food safety inspections per year, according to the Department of Environmental Resources. The website says inspection reports are scanned weekly.

Food trucks that operate under a Stanislaus County Health Department permit also are inspected by the county, though those are scheduled and done at the department’s office.

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Of the 137 restaurant inspection reports sent to The Modesto Bee on Tuesday, 20 were not updated on the site as of Thursday morning.

Employees not washing hands among major violations

Violations were found during routine inspections of the following Stanislaus County food facilities during the week of Feb. 3-16. Only the dates of violations are listed.

The details of the reports do not indicate whether a restaurant passed or failed inspection. Corrective actions may have been made by the business by the time of publication.

The reports are linked. For updates on individual restaurants, search the DER website.

Mountain Mike’s Pizza, 2410 Geer Road in Turlock, had four violations on Feb. 3 — one of them major. The hand-washing station was completely obstructed by a utensils shelf. Employees were not wearing hair restraints over their facial hair or on their heads. Pizza sauce containers were directly touching the floor. Both bathroom doors were not self closing.

Hong Heng Market, 611 Paradise Road in Modesto, had eight violations on Feb. 5 — three of them major. There were pickled vegetables as well as jars of fermented salmon from an unknown source. The salmon jars were also unlabeled. The facility lacked adequate hot water. The hand-washing sink in the food-prep area was inaccessible with a garden hose attached to the faucet. The band saw was soiled on the inside and outside. Several cutting boards were soiled. There was no sanitizer or cloth for surface cleaning. The facility lacked food safety cards.

All violations except one were noted as corrected during a reinspection on Feb. 12. The remaining violation was in the process of being corrected.

Central Market Place, 5401 Central Ave. in Ceres, had nine violations on Feb. 5 — three of them major. Two different types of food packages were missing labels. A steam table (not approved by DER) was at the coffee counter. No food product was in the unit at the time of inspection, and the person in charge said the owner makes tamales at home and vends them at the facility. Hot water could not be verified at the three-compartment sink or the mop sink.

Paper towels were not in their dispensers at the hand-washing station in the bathroom. The toilet paper dispenser was in disrepair. There was no wall-mounted soap dispenser. Fan guards inside the walk-in refrigerator were heavily encrusted with dust. Refrigeration units at the front entrance holding potentially hazardous foods were lacking stand-alone thermometers. The permit was not available for public viewing.

Konfucious Eats, 1700 McHenry Ave. Suite 66 1/2 in Modesto, had five violations on Feb. 6 — one of them major. During the inspection, one of the staff members was not washing their hands after handling the cash register and dirty utensils and serving food. There were buckets of soy sauce and oil boxes stored on the floor. The facility lacked a food safety certification, had an expired Environmental Health permit posted on the wall for public viewing and some of the staff members lack food handler cards.

El Rancheros Mexican Food, 2200 Patterson Road in Riverbank, had three violations on Feb. 7. The hand-washing station appeared to be leaking at its base. A bucket was observed below the sink basin to catch leaking water. One of three walk-in refrigeration units was in disrepair. Food had been moved into the two working units. An updated Stanislaus County Health Permit was unavailable upon inspection.

Chuck’s Butcher Shop, 6724 E. Whitmore Ave. in Hughson, had three violations on Feb. 10. The interior surfaces of the meat display refrigerators had blood stain accumulation, and the glass door guides had meat grime buildup. Butcher knives had stain/grime buildup on the blades. The bathroom light was illuminating inadequately.

Yosemite Lanes Restaurant, 2301 Yosemite Blvd. in Modesto, had three violations on Feb. 11 — one of them major. The bathrooms adjacent to the bar were not operational. The paper towel dispenser at the hand-washing sink in the kitchen was empty. The florescent lighting above the cook’s line was not providing an adequate light intensity.

King-Kennedy Memorial Center, 601 N. Martin Luther King Drive in Modesto, had three violations on Feb. 12 — one of them major. Food items in the freezer were at 30 degrees. The items are soft to the touch and an odor of decay was coming from the freezer. The floor sink under the prep table was soiled. Food safety certificates were expired.

One violation remained during a reinspection on Feb. 19.

Cost Less Foods, 6331 Oakdale Road in Riverbank, had four violations on Feb. 12 — one of them major. Sanitizer buckets were unavailable/not set up upon inspection. The three-compartment sink within the rear section of the meat department was significantly leaking at the junction between the hot and cold water nozzles. Hot water levers were not functional at the hand-washing station within the deli/meat department. The paper towel dispenser at the hand-washing station within the meat department was empty.

Proteinhouse, 4800 Dale Road Suite 103 in Modesto, had three violations on Feb. 12. A plastic cup was found in the ice bin. The ice bin did not have a full lid to protect ice from contamination. The ice dispenser in the dining area had an accumulation of pink grime. A cutting board in the preparation area had dark grooves on both sides.

Las Islitas Mariscos, 604 6th St. in Modesto, had three violations on Feb. 12 — one of them major. The hot water faucet at the hand-washing sink in the food prep area was not working properly. There were a lot of white mold spots on the metal shelving in the walk-in refrigerator. The facility lacked food safety certificates.

Smallcakes Decadent Coffee, 4800 Dale Road Suite 100 in Modesto, had three violations on Feb. 12. A container of dog treats was found on a shelf with dry food goods. The water in the ice cream scoop well was stagnant and the interior surfaces of the well was discolored. Two ice cream scoops were found inside the well. The cake display refrigerator had an ambient air temperature of 45 degrees (must be 41 degrees or lower).

In addition to the violations, four opened wine bottles were observed within the reach-in refrigerator at the back of house. It was unclear to inspectors whether they were used as ingredients in food product; wine/alcohol was not posted for sale anywhere in the store or on the facility’s menu. If the wine is used as an ingredient in a food product, and the product contains alcohol over half of a percent by weight, written notice must be provided to consumers of that fact. The facility was instructed to contact ABC’s Lodi office to inquire whether an ABC license is required.

Imperial Garden Restaurant, 2045 W. Briggsmore Ave. Suite A1 in Modesto, had five violations during an inspection on Feb. 13 which was the result of a complaint. One of the violations was major. The complaint alleged a patron found hair in food that was ordered from this facility. The manager was educated on hair restraint requirements. The walk-in refrigerator was at 43 degrees. Containers of cleaning chemicals were found stored in the three-compartment sink. An accumulation of dirt and grime was found on the inner shield of the ice machine. An accumulation of grease was found on the exhaust hood baffle blades. One ceiling panel was damaged in the back storage area.

Three violations remained during a reinspection on Feb. 14.

Hong Kong Restaurant, 901 N. Carpenter Road Suite 47 in Modesto, had eight violations on Feb. 14 — one of them major. Chlorine sanitizer at the mechanical dishwasher has a concentration of 0 ppm. During the inspection, the operator contacted the company that services the mechanical dishwasher and reported to the inspector that the dishwasher service company was on its way. The cutting boards on the food preparation table were discolored. Per the operator, the facility primarily uses smaller wooden cutting boards instead of the large plastic ones that come with the food preparation table. Even so, the inspector said, all cutting boards must be kept clean.

Raw meat was stored above vegetables in the reach-in refrigerator. An open-top container of soy sauce was kept on the utility shelving unit in the kitchen. Car keys and a phone were found on the shelf directly above the open container of soy sauce. A piece of plywood was being used as a shelf in the walk-in refrigerator and was sitting on top of two open-top food containers. One of the food containers within the walk-in refrigerator was damaged. Pink grime had accumulated on the surface of the ice chute in the ice machine. Soap was lacking in the dispenser at the hand-washing sink in the kitchen. A small container of dish soap was found at this sink.

Other food facilities with three or more, or major, violations at the time of their inspections are:

Minor violations

According to Stanislaus County, food facilities that had one to two violations, none of them major, are:

No violations

These food facilities had no violations, according to the county:

This story was originally published February 28, 2025 at 2:19 PM.

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Dominique Williams
The Modesto Bee
209-253-9007
Dominique Williams writes about new business, restaurant and retail developments for The Modesto Bee. She is a Ripon native and a graduate of Sacramento State.
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