Rotting meat, pigs’ feet and tubs with heat – province’s health protection report lists its worst offenders
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/10/2017 (2380 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
If you wanted to try the Tri It Kitchen in The Pas, you can’t because provincial health inspectors have closed it.
And, following months of health violations and thousands of dollars in fines — possibly the most ever imposed on a single food service establishment – provincial health inspectors were finally able to shut down the North Grocery Store in Brandon.
The Tri It Kitchen and North Grocery Store were just two of the latest restaurants and swimming pools to be listed on the province’s health protection reports for either being shut down for health violations or convicted in court.
The Tri It Kitchen was shuttered on Aug. 22 after health inspectors found several violations which were temperature abuse of food, inadequate protection of food from potential contamination, failure to store utensils in a sanitary manner, inoperative plumbing, and no handwashing facilities in the unit at 455 Settee Ave.
A spokesperson for the Tri It Kitchen could not be reached for comment.
And, as for the North Grocery Store, Mike LeBlanc, manager of health protection with Manitoba Health, Seniors and Active Living, said he has never seen anything like it during his 25-year career.
“I went there myself and there was a definite odour of rotting meat,” LeBlanc said.
“This was a difficult case for us. There was no compliance at all… each time we’d go back there they would not be in compliance.”
The infractions included mixing various raw meats next to each other in freezers including migratory birds, fish, and chicken and pig feet.
And, despite issuing health hazard order to shut the place down on April 25 and July 27, 2016, the North Grocery Store continued in operation until April 25, 2017.
Last month, a provincial court judge fined North Grocery Store a total of $12,843.55 for 17 separate convictions.
“It’s probably the highest fines we’ve ever seen in Manitoba history as far as public health goes,” LeBlanc said.
There are 8,673 food establishments across the province including restaurants, grocery stores, corner stores, and mobile food operators including hot dog carts and food trucks. There were also 650 temporary food facilities this year with the majority of them at summer fairs and festivals.
Meanwhile, in recent weeks health inspectors have also closed down pools at 16 locations including apartment buildings and hotels. There are 620 recreational water facilities in the province including swimming pools, whirlpools and wading pools.
But one of the hot tubs that failed health tests was at one of the premiere pool facilities in the province — Thermea by Nordik Spa-Nature on Sept. 19. Thermea’s hot tub was reopened on Sept. 21.
Thermea spokeswoman Marianne Trotier said it’s the first time in 12 years of operations that a pool the company operates has flunk a health test.
“Given that water is an essential part of our business, we take water quality very seriously,” Trotier said.
“We have very rigid processes and quality testing in place. If ever there is an issue with the quality of our water it is addressed immediately.”
Trotier said staff emptied the pool and cleaned it before refilling it and having another water sample taken. She said Thermea guests can ask to see the results of water testing at the facility at any time.
Gregory Marsh, Manitoba Health’s recreational water specialist with health protection, said even a good operator like Thermea can run into problems with a pool.
“A pool is like an ecosystem,” Marsh said. “One thing goes wrong and then others do it.”
Marsh said health inspectors had no choice when the hot tub failed the test for total coliforms.
“We always err on the side of safety,” he said.
“It is outdoors so it could have been a bird, leaves, dirt — it could have been anything… we don’t want the public to use it so we have to shut it down.”
kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca
Kevin Rollason
Reporter
Kevin Rollason is one of the more versatile reporters at the Winnipeg Free Press. Whether it is covering city hall, the law courts, or general reporting, Rollason can be counted on to not only answer the 5 Ws — Who, What, When, Where and Why — but to do it in an interesting and accessible way for readers.
The List
Restaurants, food service establishments, and swimming pools closed due to Manitoba health violations, July-Oct. 2017
Deman Place (650-662 Kenaston Blvd.), July 10-17 – Insufficient quantity of disinfectant in swimming pool.
William Osler Park (787 Brock St.), July 10-17 – operating with malfunctioning automatic disinfection system resulting in inadequate disinfectant in wading pool.
Kenaston Village (516 Kenaston Blvd.), July 14-17 – excessive chlorine and infrequent water quality testing in swimming pool and wading pool.
Weston Park (299 Lock St.), July 18 – inadequate water recirculation or quality in swimming pool.
Dowon Restaurant (A-1480 Pembina Hwy.), July 19-Aug. 4 – poor general sanitation, failed to take effective measures against entry of pests, didn’t ensure mechanical dishwasher able to sanitize utensils and tableware, and served food prepared under insanitary conditions.
Mainstay Suites (670 King Edward St.), July 21-27 – inadequate water circulation or quality in swimming pool.
Morgan Manor (1205 Grant Ave.), Aug 1-2 – failed to get public health inspector approval before alterations to swimming pool.
Summerland (77 University Cres.), Aug. 2-4 – inadequate water quality in swimming pool.
Lian Xing (6970 Henderson Hwy.), Aug. 3-4 – failed to register for permit, operating without a permit, temperature abuse of potentially hazardous foods.
Southview Plaza (2080 Pembina Hwy.), Aug. 11-17 – inadequate water quality in swimming pool.
Armadale Hollows (1750 Pembina Hwy.), Aug. 11-15 – inadequate water quality in swimming pool.
Georgetown Park (1699 Pembina Hwy.), Aug. 11-15 – inadequate water quality in swimming pool.
Foxwood Square (200 Victor Lewis Dr.), Aug. 22-23 – excessive chlorine in swimming pool.
Tri It Kitchen (455 Settee Ave., The Pas), Aug 22 – present – temperature abuse of foods, inadequate protection of food from potential contamination, failed to store utensils in sanitary manner, inoperative plumbing, failure to provide handwashing facilities in the unit.
Terraces of Tuxedo (120 Portsmouth Blvd.), Aug 26-present – inadequate water quality in whirlpool.
Thermea by Nordik Spa-Nature (775 Crescent Dr.), Sept. 19-21 – inadequate water quality in hot tub.
CanadInns Destination Centre Transcona (826 Regent Ave. W.), Sept. 28-29 – inadequate water quality in swimming pool and wading pool.
Halla Laundromat and Convenience (523 Selkirk Ave.), Oct. 10-present – no water, general disrepair, inadequate lighting.
Katrina’s Bakeshop (577 Ellice Ave.), Oct. 11-present – operating food handling establishment without permit.
Convictions and fines imposed on restaurants and other food service establishments
(Conviction dates between July and Oct. 2017; Offence dates provided below)
Killarney Meats (604 South Railway Ave., Killarney), Jan. 26, 2015 – $7,900 in fines for allowing potentially hazardous foods inside which didn’t come from a government inspected food processing plant and food which wasn’t inspected and approved in a slaughter registered under the Meat Inspection Act.
Lee’s Village Restaurant (248 Hamilton St., Neepawa), July 12, 2017 – $299.65 in fines for not making sure mechanical dishwasher was sanitizing satisfactorily.
Prairie Harvest Restaurant and Pizzeria (205 Broadway St., Crystal City), July 18, 2017 – $200 in fines for not making sure food contact surface was thoroughly washed and sanitized, and for having poor general sanitation, namely, cleanliness.
Trails West Inn (210 18th St., Brandon), Aug. 9, 2017 – $673.65 in fines for failing to conduct water quality tests on its swimming pool and not keeping records of testing.
Cathay House (1631 Regent Ave. W.), Feb. 10, 2017 – $300 in fines for not maintaining safe internal temperatures of potentially hazardous foods.
Cathay House (1631 Regent Ave. W.), Oct. 19, 2016 – $400 in fines for handling food under insanitary conditions.
North Grocery Store Co. Ltd. (1134 and 1136 Rosser Ave., Brandon), April 22, 2016 – $3,245.50 in fines for allowing meat not inspected or approved in the establishment, operating without adequate lighting, permitting operation unrelated to food handling establishment, failing to keep safe internal temperature of potentially hazardous food, store and display food in improper manner namely unpackaged, in garbage bags, and on floor, failing to make sure potentially hazardous food is coming from an approved source, handle food in insanitary conditions, and operate a food processing plant without a permit.
North Grocery Store Co. Ltd. (1134 and 1136 Rosser Ave., Brandon), April 30, 2016 – $400 in fines for not making sure no one smoked in the place.
North Grocery Store Co. Ltd. (1134 and 1136 Rosser Ave., Brandon), April 25-July 27, 2016 – $3,000 in fines for not complying with a health hazard order issued by a public health inspector.
North Grocery Store Co. Ltd. (1134 and 1136 Rosser Ave., Brandon), Feb. 7, 2017 – $2,994.25 in fines for operating a food handling establishment without a permit, handling food under insanitary conditions, failing to ensure potentially hazardous food came from an approved source, storing food in an unproper manner, namely displaying unpackaged and unprotected food for sale, and allowing in meat that has not been inspected and approved.
North Grocery Store Co. Ltd. (1134 and 1136 Rosser Ave., Brandon), April 30-June 20, 2016 – $203.80 in fines for operating a food handling establishment without a permit.
North Grocery Store Co. Ltd. (1134 and 1136 Rosser Ave., Brandon), July 27, 2016-April 25, 2017 – $3,000 in fines for not complying with a health hazard order issued by a public health inspector.
Nicolas Andromidas (20061 Navin Rd., RM of Springfield), Sept. 13, 2016 – $2,020.95 in fines for operating a slaughterhouse without a permit, selling, storing and preparing food in insanitary conditions, and selling uninspected meat.
Garven Convenience Store (3320 Lorne Hill Rd., RM of Springfield), Feb. 23, 2016 – $673.65 in fines for failing to ensure potentially hazardous foods came from an approved source.
Jan Ni Jiang Sub Shop (510 1st St., Brandon), April 4 and Aug. 22, 2017 – $350 in fines for failing to keep potentially hazardous food at a safe internal temperature and not making sure a utensil was washed in the first sink, rinsed in the second sink and sanitized in the third sink.
Kevin Rollason
Reporter
Kevin Rollason is one of the more versatile reporters at the Winnipeg Free Press. Whether it is covering city hall, the law courts, or general reporting, Rollason can be counted on to not only answer the 5 Ws — Who, What, When, Where and Why — but to do it in an interesting and accessible way for readers.
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History
Updated on Thursday, October 19, 2017 7:36 PM CDT: adds photo
Updated on Friday, October 20, 2017 1:11 PM CDT: Removes photo.
