DHEC fined several Greenville restaurants for food safety violations
Kaitlyn Lundy, Staff Writer
Photo courtesy of Unsplash.com
This past year, 36 restaurants in Greenville County were collectively fined over $39,000 for food safety violations. These violations include improper holding temperatures and lack of sterilization of workspaces.
Looking at the issue on a larger scale, the most common food-safety violation was regarding temperatures that foods were placed at within restaurants. DHEC requires cold foods to be held at 41 degrees or below and hot foods at 135 degrees or above.
The issue here goes beyond simply requiring employees to repeatedly wash their hands throughout the work day. Observations of the procedures put in place regarding the equipment they are interacting with on the job is the reason for the multiple health-code violations.
The Department of Health and Environment Control(DHEC), follows five basic criteria when inspecting: Food Contact Equipment Cleanliness, Cooking Temperatures, Employee Health, Food Sources and Food Holding Temperatures to ensure the safety of the consumer.
Throughout the year, DHEC evaluates the performance of over 19,000 facilities including establishments anticipating opening.
In 2018, the S&S Cafeterias took home the largest fine at $2,200 for multiple violations. Other establishments such as Roost, Wild Wing Cafe, Tropical Grill and Ink N Ivy were also reprimanded.
Many of the violators listed on Greenville Online’s observation of the issue, belong to establishments located within Downtown Greenville.
The restaurant scene is always changing in the streets of Greenville. In the moment cutting corners doesn’t seem too risky of a choice, but the overall safety of the consumer is at stake.
The amount of food safety fines in Greenville County is gradually declining, but there is still work to be done. In the previous year, 49 restaurants were fined $46,200, a $7,000 difference to the following year. These large sums could be going toward renovations instead of directly into the pockets of the state health system.
It appears as though the outside counterparts of the eating establishments on campus have a lot to learn from us.
Within Todd Dining Hall, employees are required to wear gloves, wear hairnets, pay attention to time limits on food and expect occasional checks from DHEC throughout the school year. Work study students also receive paperwork outlining food safety regulations in order to ensure the cleanliness and prevent illness among the NGU community.
The Chick-fil-A on campus also abides by these standards in order to ensure the best quality experience for the NGU student body.
George Case, a senior dining-commons work-study student, says, “We have supervisors that come by regularly and check for a clean environment.”
Hopefully the broken regulations of the past year serve as a warning to their receivers in the future of their businesses.
