From The Trussville Tribune staff reports
*Updated: The Tribune contacted the Jefferson County Department of Health and learned that Joel’s Restaurant had been reinspected on Feb. 18 and raised their score to an 86. That score has not yet been posted on county records or online documents.
According to the Jefferson County Health Department the new rating was part of a compliance score and that there were two critical issues that will have to be corrected within 10 calendar days of the compliance score.
According to records Joel’s Restaurant was instructed to maintain TCS (temperature control for safety) food at 135 F or above.
According to records Joel’s Restaurant was instructed to maintain TCS food at 41 F or below.
TRUSSVILLE — Joel’s Restaurant of Trussville at 312 Main Street scored a 69 on its Feb. 13 inspection by the Jefferson County Department of Health, according to county documents.
Remarks in the county inspection report showed a number of areas in which Joel’s Restaurant was cited.
See Related: This week’s Jefferson County restaurant scores
According to records, Joel’s Restaurant was instructed that employees need to wash hands for at least 15 seconds after any potential contamination (i.e. handling soiled utensils, after using toilet room, before donning gloves, etc.) Records showed that an employee handled soiled dishes with same gloves used to handle clean and the same employee was observed going from soiled dishes to handling raw meat.
Records show that Joel’s Restaurant was instructed to discard foods that had exceeded seven days or for which the date of preparation could not be determined. The report stated that cooked spaghetti stored in a cooler had an undetermined date and that a corn casserole was past the date limit. These items were voluntarily discarded.
Records show that Joel’s Restaurant was instructed to maintain TCS food at 135 F or above. The report stated that country fried veal was 112 F – 127 F, beef tips were 124 F- 127 F and Turnip Greens were 115 F – 117 F. The items were volountarily discarded.
According to records Joel’s Restaurant was instructed to maintain TCS food at 41 F or below. The report stated that milk was stored at 52 F and lettuce was 60 F. Those items were volountarily discarded.
According to records, Joel’s Restaurant was instructed to properly date mark all TCS food prepared in-house, when held for more than 24 hours, with the preparation date and date of discard — not to exceed seven days including the date of preparation. The report stated that various pans in the walk-in cooler were not date marked.
Records show that Joel’s Restaurant was instructed to provide separation between packaged raw and ready-to-eat food. The report stated that raw bacon was stored next to shredded cheese in the RI unit.
Records show that Joel’s Restaurant was instructed to store utensils left inside ice machines and closable containers of non-TCS foods with handles above the top of the food or ice.
According to records, Joel’s Restaurant was instructed to repair a condensation leak in refrigeration units and repair a condensation leak in RI freezer units.
According to records, Joel’s Restaurant was instructed to clean the dumpster area and/or grease receptacle at a frequency necessary to prevent accumulation of soil or becoming attractants for pests.