After seeing this particularly disgusting picture over at BlogTO a while ago, I did some digging in Toronto Public Health’s DineSafe database. You’d be surprised at what turns up beyond the usual rodent infestations, improper hand washing, and temperature control issues. In particular, these two recent infractions stood out:
- Operator fail to maintain premises free of sewage back-up (Eikona Chinese Restaurant, January 2, 2008). This issue is surprisingly popular, with at least two other restaurants being closed for the same problem since 2006. How can you possibly not keep your restaurant sewage-free? And when you do notice the sewage, how can you not close down immediately? More to the point, how long does it take customers to notice? “Hmm, the chicken smells a little off today.”
- Operator fail to provide approved meat (Huy Ky Pork Skin, December 21, 2007). Ah, the old myth of mystery meat isn’t such a myth after all. The report doesn’t say whether the meat (or maybe “meat”) in question was true mystery meat, or simply uninspected meat. Either way, it wouldn’t be a welcome surprise.
Rodent infestation? Bah, that’s for amateurs.