What you should know about restaurant health inspections in Riverside County
Every week, inspectors from the Riverside County Environmental Health Department visit restaurants throughout the Coachella Valley.
No restaurants in the Coachella Valley were closed by health inspectors this week, but one restaurant received a poor “C” grade, according to an inspection report.
At Hula’s in Palm Desert, the inspection found a number of “minor violations,” including issues with employee handwashing, incorrect temperatures when storing hot and cold food, and even vermin infestations, resulting in a “C” rating. Due to previous failed inspections, an administrative hearing will be held to determine the next steps for the business.
This article does not include the usual summary of all the restaurants that received an “A” grade during inspectors’ visits this week. The Riverside County Health Department is in the process of transferring past restaurant inspection reports from its old database to a new one, and as a result, no new reports have been uploaded to the website since June 11.
Instead, the Riverside County Health Department will send weekly inspection reports to The Desert Sun until the restaurant rating website is functioning properly again. These reports will only cover restaurants that have been downgraded or closed by health inspectors.
According to the agency’s standards, major violations pose an immediate threat to public health and warrant immediate closure of a food establishment or immediate correction, while minor violations, while not pose an immediate threat to public health, warrant correction.
The ministry has not given an estimate as to when its website will be operational again.
Class C
Hula‘s in Palm Desert, 36-901 Cook St., Palm Desert
- Minor violations include: A food processing worker was observed not washing hands before changing gloves; the handwashing sink was clogged by bulk bins and a paper towel dispenser near the cook line; the handwashing sink was empty; improper storage temperatures for hot and cold foods (uncovered fried chicken wings at 10°C on a rolling cart; large bucket of rice at 13°C stored unattended on a prep table); containers of chicken not properly cooled; metal containers with open bags of beef and shrimp sitting in a pool of liquid in the walk-in cooler and dented cans in the dry storage area; no chlorine in the dishwasher; a live adult cockroach in the rear storage area, a dead adult cockroach in the floor sink strainer under the prep sink, and several flies throughout the facility; several food storage items throughout the facility were uncovered or open; bulk bins of dry storage items were visibly dirty and food storage containers were stored on the floor at the cook line; and others
- Card “C” posted. Due to repeated failed inspections within a two-year period, an administrative hearing will be held
Ema Sasic covers entertainment and health in the Coachella Valley. Reach her at [email protected] or on Twitter at @ema_sasic.
