Milford health inspectors cite 21 businesses for violations in May

MILFORD — Four pizza restaurants, an ice cream parlor and a grocery store were among 20 local food establishments cited by city health inspectors for priority item violations in May, up from nine cited a month earlier.

The violations, which are considered the most serious offenses and must be corrected within 72 hours, were discovered by the Milford Health Department during routine checks, city records show.

Most of the violations involved improperly stored perishable goods and poor sanitation in food preparation areas. Records show that each company took steps to correct the violations.

Herbaceous Catering Co., for example, was flagged on May 8 for using a sanitizing solution with the wrong concentration of chlorine. That mistake was the only priority standard violation cited by the company’s inspectors.

“Unfortunately, it was a mistake,” said owner Genee Habansky. “I’m grateful that it was corrected because it will never happen again. It’s a lesson learned.”

Inspectors found the most violations at Mi Victoria restaurant on Bridgeport Avenue, which was cited for at least six violations during a May 9 inspection. The violations included a cook not changing gloves after handling raw chicken, a cook not washing hands after handling raw meat, storing a pound of raw meat in an open bowl, discarding labels on unopened food and a lack of sanitizer.

A representative for the restaurant did not respond to a request for comment.

Big Wigs, a sports bar on New Haven Avenue, received the second-most citations, with inspectors finding five violations on May 2. The violations included storing individually wrapped raw eggs and steaks on ready-to-eat food items, connecting a hose to a sink faucet without a backflow preventer, storing bacon on a counter instead of a cooler and using the wrong concentration of chemicals in a spray bottle used for cleaning.

“Everything was fixed on site,” said John Helwig, the restaurant’s owner.

The restaurant was, however, fined $100 because inspectors had to re-visit for a violation that could not be corrected during the first visit. The nature of the violation was not mentioned in the report.

Inspectors also cited four different pizzerias for a series of separate issues. At Honeyspot Pizza 2 on Lansdale Avenue, they recorded three violations on May 7 for failing to keep food in the pizza and salad prep areas at the proper temperature and using a broken cooler.

Additionally, 8 Thousand Pizza in the Connecticut Post Mall received two violations on May 10 for storing raw chicken on top of ready-to-eat food in a cooler and directly on top of raw sausage in a freezer.

On May 14, Bella Napoli Pizza on Boston Post Road was hit with three violations, including storing raw chicken on top of food, using a cleaning solution that contained too much chlorine and placing a sanitizing bucket on a cutting board.

Similarly, Pancho’s Pizza, also located on Boston Post Road, was cited for three violations on May 16 for storing raw eggs on top of a microwave above ready-to-eat foods, storing packaged raw chicken above other meats in a cooler and failing to properly wash equipment.

Representatives for the pizzerias did not respond to a request for comment.

A handful of establishments received only one violation. Walnut Beach Creamery on Broadway was cited May 3 after inspectors learned that water coming from a restroom faucet was over 115 degrees, and the Panda Express at the service plaza on Interstate 95 South received a violation May 6 for a walk-in cooler that wasn’t working properly.

Meanwhile, Bert’s Deli on Boston Post Road was ticketed on May 7 for having a broken refrigerator. The Milford Yacht Club on Trumbull Avenue was flagged on May 10 for using a broken cooler. The Dumpling House on Boston Post Road was cited on May 21 for storing raw chicken on top of raw beef in a freezer. And the Athenian Diner on Boston Post Road was ticketed on May 20 for storing raw steak and trout on top of ready-to-eat foods.

Bud Franke, the yacht club’s vice commodore, noted that the organization was made aware of the problem involving the cooler by health inspectors and said he was grateful they reported the issue.

“We called repairmen that day to fix the problem,” he said. “We took care of it immediately.”

Executives and owners of the other companies that received single violations did not respond to a request for comment.

Inspectors cited Fratelli’s Italian Restaurant on New Haven Avenue for three violations on May 8, including storing raw fish and shrimp above ready-to-eat foods, handling food at a salad station without gloves and handling food at the bar with bare hands instead of utensils.

The Bridge House restaurant on Bridgeport Avenue received three citations on May 13. The violations included having vodka sauce at an improper temperature, improperly storing food on the bottom shelf of a cooler and failing to throw away certain food items that were more than seven days old.

Old Street Milford also received three citations during a May 22 inspection for storing raw shrimp and chicken above ready-to-eat foods, a leaky slicer covered in raw beef, and moldy green peppers and ginger that had to be thrown out.

Pura Barosa Indian restaurant and bar on Cherry Street was cited three times on May 28 for storing raw tilapia and raw chicken on top of ready-to-eat foods in separate coolers and for using the wrong concentration of chemicals in a cleaning solution.

On May 28, Mac N’ Out on Boston Post Road received two citations for storing raw sausages above ready-to-eat food and for storing open hot dogs with raw ground beef. On May 30, Mexico Tipico on Boston Post Road received four citations for storing raw seafood and raw chicken above ready-to-eat food, storing hand sanitizer above food on a guacamole cart, and using a cleaning solution with too much chlorine.

Representatives for the food establishments did not respond to a request for comment.

The ShopRite store on Boston Post Road was one of the last to be inspected. On May 30, local health officials cited the grocery store for four violations. The violations included a bakery employee who failed to wash his hands after handling raw food, employees who failed to change gloves after a task, who failed to clean a table used to cut raw food and who prepared food that was more than seven days old.

“The violations were immediately addressed and corrected and the employee involved was retrained on proper protocol,” ShopRite spokeswoman Karen O’Shea wrote in an email.