Roaches, flying insects found at Asian restaurant in Knoxville

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — The health inspector found cockroaches and flying insects at this eatery in Knoxville. A customer complaint prompted the inspection.

The grade is a 60 at Lotus Garden on North Cedar Bluff Road. 60 is a failing score as any grade of 69 and below is considered failing. It is also the lowest we have reported this year. There has not yet been a follow-up inspection.

Lotus Garden, 460 N. Cedar Bluff Rd, Knoxville — Grade: 60

To begin with, the inspector wrote that roaches were found crawling around in the cold holding unit where raw shrimp was stored on cooked noodles. That’s not all, insects were also observed on multiple food containers. The contents in the containers were promptly thrown away and the containers were washed. The inspector added that flying insects were seen buzzing around the restaurant.

There’s more. Several dishes in the clean dish rack had food debris stuck to them. So, they weren’t really clean. That’s not all. The inspector found in-use utensils with “heavy and hard” debris stuck to them. He writes they had been used for days “without being washed.” Food debris was also found in food containers with heavy and hard food build-up.

Other critical violations include, fried and grilled chicken left out at room temperature, they belonged in the refrigerator to slow bacterial growth. No date markings were found on any ready-to-eat food left in the cooler. Dates of first use are required to be “labeled” because guessing isn’t allowed.

Finally, the inspector writes he found “no managerial control” due to so many violations that could potentially cause foodborne illness. Lotus Garden has not yet been re-inspected.

Top Scores of the Week

• Chick-fil-A, 770 Winfield Dunn Pky, Sevierville — 99
• Tacos El Primo, 216 Chato Rd, Knoxville — 99
• Long John Silver’s, 1150 Oak Ridge Turnpike, Oak Ridge — 99
• Starbucks, 4236 Roberts Ln, Morristown — 99
• Wendy’s, 6918 Maynardville Hwy, Knoxville — 99
• Burger King, 6825 Maynarville Hwy, Knoxville — 99
• Urban Bar & Corner Cafe, 109 N. Central St, Knoxville — 99
• Crooked Fork Grille, 10304 Petros Hwy, Oliver Springs — 98

Restaurant inspections are unannounced and they’re conducted every six months. But if a legitimate customer complaint is made an inspector will check it out.

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