Mexican Restaurant Inspected 20 Times in 3 Years, Receives "D" Health Grade

A local Mexican restaurant has been visited a lot by health inspectors.Photo byAni KolleshionUnsplash

You wouldn’t think twice about eating at an embassy. You’d probably receive some of the best food found in that particular country, right? You should hope. However, if there were food safety problems that would put them more in line with Abuelo’s Mexican Embassy, a restaurant in Chandler that did not perform adequately during its most recent health inspection. With four Priority Violations, it had the second-worst score of the last thousand restaurants visited by Phoenix-area health inspectors. 

On July 15, Abuelo’s Mexican Embassy at 3440 West Chandler Blvd was visited for its annual health inspection. It did not go as it would have liked. Six violations were identified, with four of them considered a Priority Violation. A Priority Violation is one that directly contributes to the potential for foodborne illness and injury. 

The first issue came when the inspector looked into the cook line cold tables. Food held in either walk-in coolers or within cold tables must maintain a temperature no greater than 41 degrees. Anything above this will lead to the growth of bacteria. However, temperatures on the cook line cold table tested at 48 degrees. This was a repeat violation.

Another repeat violation came at the opposite end of the heat spectrum. Ready-to-serve warm items must be kept at a temperature no lower than 135 degrees. Anything between 41 and 135 is considered the “Danger Zone” for food. Despite this, tested food ranged from 107 to 122 degrees. The food was reheated up to 165 at the time of the inspection. 

A third Priority Violation came when no chlorine was detected in the low-temperature dishwasher. A chlorine mixture between 50 and 200 PPM (parts per million) must be used to properly disinfect dishes. The issue was corrected at the time of the inspection. 

The final Priority Violation came when a gloved employee entered the kitchen from the outside, handled the trash cans, and then proceeded to work on food, all without changing gloves or washing hands. 

There is something well out of the ordinary concerning the inspection schedule of Abuelo’s Mexican Embassy. Most restaurants are visited once a year by county inspectors. The only time a restaurant is visited more frequently is if there are demonstrated problems. However, the restaurant has been spot-inspected 20 times since August 2021, with violations found during seven of those inspections. Having repeat inspections a month after a previous inspection found no violations is more than a little odd. From August 2021 until March 2022, the restaurant was inspected four times with zero violations found. This kind of inspection schedule is extremely unusual for a restaurant.