Local Tucson Mexican Restaurant Hit With 10 Health Code Violations

A local restaurant has a number of violations.Photo byMikael SeegenonUnsplash

Restaurants have performed fairly adequately in their annual health inspections over the past several weeks here in Tucson. There haven’t been too many extreme violation situations or restaurants being hit with Fail grades. While the occasional poor grade has appeared, considering all food establishments inspected (ranging from sit-down restaurants to nursing homes serving food), it has been a good few weeks. With that said, one restaurant, which received a “Satisfactory” report, did have 10 violations earlier in the month. 

The difference between Satisfactory and Needs Improvement health grades here in Tucson can, at times, be a bit headscratching. One restaurant earlier in the week had two total violations (which is on the very low end of the spectrum), but received a Needs Improvement grade (this automatically results in a repeat visit by the health department), and yet Little Mexico Restaurant at 698 West Irvington Road received a Satisfactory grade off of 10 violations (this does not come with a repeat inspection). Furthermore, Little Mexico Restaurant received the same two violations as the other restaurant, plus eight additional violations. Again, it’s hard to make rhyme or reason of the health department at times. 

Either way, on September 20, Little Mexico Restaurant was visited by the health department for its annual inspection. The first issue came about when it was discovered there was no Certified Food Protection Manager or certification on the premises. The restaurant must have at least one certified food protection manager on hand at all times. 

The main issue of the inspection though took place with the walk-in cooler. All food stored within a walk-in or refrigerator must maintain a temperature no greater than 41 degrees. Bacteria grow in temperatures between 41 and 135 degrees. Despite this, food inside the walk-in tested all the way up to 66 degrees. The Person In Charge (PIC) said many of the foods had been cooked and were cooling down to the necessary 41 degrees. However, this must be done in less than six hours to reduce the chance of bacterial growth and the foods had been cooling for longer than the six-hour window. The staff was instructed to throw out any food that tested above 41 degrees.

Other identified violations with the restaurant included not having a functional thermometer on hand and leaving multiple wet wiping clothes on the counter and not back in the designated sanitary bucket. The staff was instructed to store all wiping clothes in the bucket to prevent bacteria development.