By Mindy Ragan Wood
Staff Writer
A restaurant near Piedmont was flagged for several health department violations including conditions that could have caused listeria infections, the Oklahoma City Department of Health said Tuesday.
Heartland Pub & Grill, 13100 Colony Pointe, faced fines if it did not resolve several infractions from Dec. 31 to Jan. 4. The restaurant addressed those violations as of Jan. 9 and were not fined or closed down.
Foods that were not kept below 41 degrees could have grown listeria, a bacteria that can cause death.
“Listeria can grow below 45 degrees but it can’t below 41 degrees,” Troy Skow, a health department inspector said. “If you had food with huge amounts of listeria and if you are pregnant and you eat it, it can cause miscarriage and things with children.”
The bacteria is responsible for an estimated 1,600 cases of listeriosis each year and symptoms can develop up to 30 days after a person is exposed to it, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) warns. Symptoms include vomiting and diarrhea or flu-like symptoms.
CDC reports show outbreaks in 2016 were linked to prepackaged salads, raw milk, and frozen vegetables. Three people died as the result of a listeria infection from Blue Bell ice cream in 2015 which nearly put the company out of business.
Additional findings in the health department report showed raw “chicken and hamburger meat” was being stored above “ready-to-eat” foods.
“So, if I’m in the reach cooler (refrigerator),” Skow explained, “and I grab a slab of meat to eat or prepare and I grab a salad or prepare a salad and a drop from that meat was on the salad, you don’t cook that salad at that temperature you cook a hamburger. It would be like eating a raw hamburger. That’s why we have those foods stored below ready to eat foods to prevent that from happening.”
Other violations included “mold-like substance” in the ice machine, a drain hose from a pop machine draining into a hand-washing sink, and stained cutting boards or cutting boards with grooves on the surface. Food and grime were also seen on the floors and walls of the kitchen. Dates were not marked on some foods stored in the refrigerator and freezer, which is a requirement for any foods in cold storage past 24 hours.
The initial inspection in December was a routine visit. By Jan. 4, the violations had not been corrected. A second follow up visit on Jan. 9 showed the restaurant had addressed all the violations.
Restaurant owner Jerry Gilcrest said a turnover in staff and an equipment failure were to blame.
“Our employees have to be made aware of it,” Gilcrest said. “My GM (general manager) was out of town for a week. All it was, was our salad bar went out, a motor on the bottom. The health department came in and gave us a week to get it done and it wasn’t done. My GM got aware of it and fixed the problem.”
Gilcrest said he did not believe the violations were serious.
“It’s something that any business is going to have issues with. I don’t think there was a major problem,” he said.
