A Wendy’s restaurant in Leesburg was shut down for a day last week after failing a health inspection.
The Wendy’s at 10401 U.S .Hwy. 441 at Lake Square Mall was issued a stop-sale order on July 29, according to a report filed with the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation,
The restaurant had a total of 27 violations, six of which were considered “high priority.” They included failing to properly separate raw meat from ready-to-eat food, a bag of raw chicken patties being placed on top of an open bag of precooked sausage in the reach-in freezer, and flying insects crawling on the ketchup dispenser pump in the condiment station.
Other high-priority violations that were corrected on-site involved employees not washing their hands or touching their hair before engaging in food preparation, and a cook wiping her sweat and then preparing fries without changing her gloves.
The restaurant also was cited with an “intermediate” violation involving the assistant manager’s failure to provide proof of required state-approved employee training. The violation was corrected on-site when a general manager produced the requested documentation.
The inspector also cited 20 basic violations, including a moldy substance in the ice machine, grease accumulating on the walls and ceiling due to an inadequate hood ventilation system, food debris in the microwave, unwashed fruits and vegetables being stored with ready-to-eat food, soiled shelves, equipment and utensils not being properly air-dried, failure to store a wet wiping cloth in sanitizing solution between uses, and a cook failing to wear a beard guard during food preparation.
Officials allowed the Wendy’s to reopen the next day when they found 11 basic violations that remained from the first inspection but no high-priority violations.
A manager at the Wendy’s referred a request for comment to a corporate office in Dallas, which did not respond to Leesburg-News.com.
