Inspections of all retail food facilities are done yearly, and in some cases more than once per year. Unannounced inspections are conducted for restaurants, school cafeterias, hospital and nursing home cafeterias, grocery stores, convenience stores, fairgrounds, resorts, food trucks, festivals and any event or facility where food is sold to the public.
Melissa Mathews conducts about 145 retail food facility inspections every year for Montezuma and Dolores counties as the county Health Department’s environmental health specialist. The comprehensive inspections are completed on-site and include compliance standards set by the Colorado Department of Health and Environment. The categories are divided into critical and non-critical health standards specific to retail food facilities.
Critical areas are those that if not in compliance can cause foodborne illnesses. The categories include food sources, personnel, food temperature control, sanitation, water systems and plumbing, hand-washing facilities, pest control and poisonous or toxic items. Noncritical areas are important, but have less risk of causing food born illnesses. The categories include food labeling and protection, equipment design and construction, testing devices, cleaning of equipment utensils and linens, and physical facilities.
Mathews said that overall, local retail food establishments do a good job complying with the health standards. She said often a problem is corrected on-site, but if that is not possible, then a follow-up inspection occurs soon after.
“We have a good relationship with our restaurants and schools. They know what to expect and understand why we do this,” she said. “The restaurants and cafeterias here are in good standing. Sometimes, it is a learning process for new owners,” she said. “I’ve never had to shut anyone down.”
Under Colorado law, any retail food customer can ask an establishment for its latest inspection report, and the facility is required to provide it, Mathews said.
Mathews is also responsible for inspecting and approving septic systems in the two counties. She also works to prevent diseases such as hantavirus, West Nile disease and bubonic plague, which can be transmitted from animals to humans.
“It is a lot to keep track of,” Mathews said. “As the population grows, so does the workload. All the inspection duties leave little time for the public-education aspect of the job.”
In May, The Journal filed a Colorado Open Records Act request for restaurant reports, which led to a dispute about appropriate fees. The Health Department argued that a price of $518 for 143 reports was appropriate because of the staff time to produce it. The Health Department also said that a new database system that generates the inspection reports also hampered access for health department officials and the public.
A First Amendment lawyer for The Journal challenged the records price, arguing that it did not comply with the Colorado Opens Records Act.
The issue was resolved when the Colorado Health Department supplied The Journal the requested reports electronically at no cost. The Montezuma County Health Department then received additional training on the new database system, which allowed them to more easily generate reports, and agreed to provide inspection reports to The Journal each month.
The Journal pursued publishing regular restaurant inspection reports after readers requested them.
As a staff of one, Mathews was struggling to keep up with all the required septic and retail food inspections for both counties. In the fall, the Montezuma County Board of Commissioners approved a part-time assistant for Mathews to assist with the paperwork and for public outreach.
The San Juan Health Department, which covers La Plata and Archuleta counties, publishes regular restaurant inspection reports on its website.
Montezuma County Health Director Bobbi Lock also said the county plans to eventually post all Dolores and Montezuma county restaurant inspection reports online.
Below are the restaurant inspection reports conducted for January.
The ReportsMirch Masala303 Main St., Cortez
Date: Jan. 3, 1.25 hours
Critical violations: 0
Non-critical violations: 0
Stateline Bar and Grill69576 U.S. 491, Dove Creek
Date: Jan. 4, 1.5 hours
Critical violations: 0
Non-critical violations: 0
Gustavo’s125 Main St., Cortez
Date: Jan. 9, .75 hours
Critical violations: 0
Non-critical violations: 0
Loungin Lizard2 Main St., Cortez
Date: Jan. 11, 1 hour
Critical violations: 0
Non-critical violations: 0
Stone Fish Sushi and More16 Main St., Cortez
Date: Jan. 11, 1 hour
Critical violations: 0
Non-critical violations: 0
Chavolito’s Mexican Restaurant104 Second St., Dolores
Date: Jan. 12, 1.5 hours
Critical violations: 2
1. Hands washed as needed category
Inspector comments: Employees not hand washing when required. Observed employee not washing hands when returning to the kitchen from being outside. Violation was corrected on-site.
2. Hygienic Practices category
Inspector comments: Single-use gloves are not used properly. Not discarding gloves when worn outside of the kitchen and returning to work. Problem was corrected on-site.
Non-critical violations: 2
1. Floors, walls, ceilings category
Inspector comments: Floors are improperly designed or in poor repair. Floors throughout kitchen and dishwashing are damaged. No longer smooth and cleanable. Ceiling above refrigerated unit in the wait area is damaged.
2. Premises maintained category
Inspector comments: Outer openings are not protected against pests. Observed gap under the door from dishwashing area to the outside.
Jack and Janelle’s Country Kitchen801 Main St., Cortez
Date: Jan. 30, 1.3 hours
Critical violations: 0
Non-critical violations: 1
1. Non-food contact surfaces
Inspector comments: Non-food contact surfaces are not clean. Shelves in walk-in have grease build-up.
The Farm34 W. Main St., Cortez
Date: Jan. 31, 1 hour
Critical violations: 0
Non-critical violations: 0
Hong Kong Chinese Restaurant332 Main St., Cortez, CO.
Date: Jan. 31
Critical violations: 2
1. Hygienic Practices category
Inspector comments: Employees observed washing hands in sinks other than a designated hand sink. Observed employee using the prep sink to wash hands. Problem was corrected on-site.
2. Smoking, eating, drinking category
Inspector comments: Observed a non-employee eating and drinking in the kitchen preparation area, a non-designated area for that activity.
Non-critical violations: 2
1. Pest Control category
Inspector comments: Facility has inadequate pest control procedures. The facility is not routinely inspecting facility for evidence of pests. There is excess rodent droppings in the two back store rooms. There will be a follow up inspection to check if the problem has been solved.