Public health report: Inspectors find critical violations at eight restaurants in August

Health Department inspectors found minor health violations at nearly half of the 73 restaurants, stores, hotel, and other locations they inspected in August, and identified critical issues at eight.

Waltham’s Health Department regularly inspects locations that sell and handle food and tobacco to ensure compliance with the city’s safety regulations. It’s common for establishments to have minor violations during inspections. When the Health Department finds violations, business owners are given a deadline to correct them.

Health Department Inspector Ivan Colon said if the Health Department finds a violation causing immediate and severe health concerns or finds three or more health violations deemed “critical,” the Health Department will close the business until it determines it is safe for patrons. 

Between Aug. 1-31, inspectors found 36 businesses that violated clauses in Waltham’s health and safety code. All of those locations — including the eight with critical violations — fixed the identified issues by the department’s deadline.

Critical violations

Below is a summary of the violations inspectors identified as critical and needing immediate fixes. All passed a later re-inspection by health inspectors. The first had three violations. The rest are in chronological order.

Salgueros Market, 139 Felton St., on August 27

Inspectors required the store to exterminate rats in its basement, keep condiment trays at correct temperatures and clean can openers of food buildup. 

Because inspectors found three critical violations, the department required Salgueros Market to close immediately until it addressed the identified health issues. The store passed its re-inspection on August 31 and was allowed to re-open.

Joco’s Bar and Kitchen, 450 Moody St., on August 2

Inspectors required the restaurant to clean its basement of debris, including trash and rodent droppings.

Peppino’s Dosa, 434 Moody St., on August 3

Inspectors required the restaurant to clean food buildup from can openers.

Salgueros Market, 344 Newton St., on August 7

Inspectors required the store to move some food, including eggs and produce, into a cooler with correct temperature control.

Penang, 569 Moody St., on August 10

Inspectors required the restaurant to hire a professional to clean its fume hood.

Asia Wok, 573 Main St., on August 18

Inspectors required the restaurant to clean food buildup from can openers. 

Los Latinos Meat Market, 230 Newton St., on August 19

Inspectors required the store to repair the temperature control on a handwash sink. Its owners corrected this issue during inspection.

Absolutely Asia, 864 Main St., on August 26

Inspectors required the restaurant to add English labels to all meat and seafood in its fridges. 

Other health department business

Health inspectors also investigate complaints about pests, trash management on private properties and other environmental hazards. As of publication, the Health Department had not provided information about its August health complaint investigations. Colon wrote that the department is currently “limited in staffing” and still hiring a full-time administrator.