Restaurant violations rise, but major issues uncommon

Waitresses carry trays of food as they buzz past tables toward hungry diners. The aroma of these dishes lingers in the air — a preview of what's to come.

A strip steak arrives at the table. The knife cuts through the meat. The flowing juices and the red of the meat suggest how well the steak was cooked. Everything from the tenderness of the beef to the smell of the seasoning hint to the quality.

But just behind the swinging kitchen door lies the mystery of the conditions the steak was prepared in.

INVESTIGATION: Health inspectors 'catch the truth' of restaurant violations

DATABASE: Search New York's restaurant inspection data

Was this steak properly stored to avoid bacterial growth? Did the cooked steak ever make contact with raw foods? Was any of the kitchen staff sick?

While customers only get a glimpse into the inner workings of a restaurant, inspectors with the Department of Health take a much deeper look.

The number of eateries in Dutchess County is rising, as are the number of Dutchess County Department of Behavioral & Community Health inspections. But only a fraction of local restaurants had critical violations in 2016. And while inspections target sanitation issues that could result in illness, no sickness was linked to violations last year.

The Poughkeepsie Journal analyzed food establishment inspection data from 2016 from the New York State Department of Health and interviewed staff at the Dutchess County Department of Behavioral & Community Health.

Here's what we learned:

• The number of food establishments in Dutchess is generally increasing, having jumped from 1,389 in 2012 to 1,437 in 2016. There was a slight dip in the number of restaurants from 2014, 1,454.
• Inspections rose from 2,242 in 2014 to 2,811 in 2016, not including reinspections.
• Dutchess restaurants had 831 critical violations in 2016, a rise from 596 in 2014. 
• Only about 18 percent of inspections found critical violations in 2016.

Critical violations rose with inspections, but a majority of inspections found only noncritical violations or no violations at all.

Among restaurants with a higher number of violations, all critical violations were corrected at the time of the inspection or before a reinspection. And the Dutchess County Health Department did not need to impose penalties against any food establishments in 2016.

Food establishments are ranked based on the complexity of food preparation, which in turn results in more opportunities for foodborne bacteria to grow. Higher-risk establishments undergo more inspections, according to James Fouts, associate public health sanitarian with the Dutchess County Department of Behavioral & Community Health.

Violations are categorized as critical or noncritical in a system that puts a greater emphasis on issues that could lead to illness.

These inspections are primarily performed by the County's 12 public health sanitarians, according to Tanya Clark, director of environmental health services with the County Health Department.

The cleanliness of a restaurant may not be the first thing hungry diners consider when eating out, but it is still a concern, said Christy Seregely, 22, of Fishkill.

"If I've heard of a violation for a certain restaurant, I will make a point to not go there," she said.

Kathleen Ringwood-Wood, 53, of Poughkeepsie, said she searches for obvious issues while dining out.

"I am critical of quite a few things, simple things, things to look for," she said. "My family or I don't need to get sick."

Separating the red and the blue

Health inspectors search for red, critical violations and blue, noncritical violations.

"Red violations are critical violations that if not corrected may lead to unsafe food and possibly illness or injury," Fouts said. "Blue violations are maintenance or general in nature."

The distinction has more to do with the classification of the violation than its severity. For example, insect and rodent control is considered a noncritical violation.

Critical violations look at food handling or temperatures, Fouts said. These include placing cooked food on a surface that touched raw food or hot foods that aren't properly stored.

Food establishments are broken down into three categories: high-risk, medium-risk and low-risk food. However, a high-risk restaurant isn't necessarily more dangerous or unsanitary than a low-risk restaurant, Fouts said. The designation indicates how often food served at the establishment pass through the temperature range where bacteria can grow.

Low-, medium- and high-risk establishments are inspected once, twice and three times annually, respectively. Depending on violations, additional inspections are performed to determine that a violation is corrected, Fouts said.

"An example of a low-risk facility is a bar or an establishment that serves food requiring limited handling," he said. "An example of a medium-risk establishment is a deli or fast-food operation where food is prepared close to service and food travels through the danger zone one time, such as cooking a burger or chicken. A high-risk establishment would be a diner or full-service restaurant that may prepare food several days in advance with the cooling and reheating of food."

Violations rise but remain uncommon

Though violations and inspections rose in Dutchess in 2016, there isn't a clear pattern, Fouts said.

The number of critical violations jumped from 596 in 2014 to 831 in 2016, and inspections jumped from 2,242 in 2014 to 2,811 in 2016, Clark said.

Critical violation totals tend to fluctuate depending on the year, Fouts said.

"We haven’t really seen a solid trend in regards to violations," he said.

Despite the jumps, critical violations were uncommon. About 18 percent of inspections in 2016 found at least one critical violation, while the other 82 percent found no violations or only noncritical violations, according to the state data.

"Usually restaurants will have, at most, a few noncritical violations during an inspection," Fouts said.

Dutchess County didn't need to take action against any food establishments over any 2016 violation, Fouts said. Penalties could include temporarily closing a restaurant until violations are corrected or imposing fines.

"There hasn't been a situation in recent memory where the situation couldn't be resolved before reinspection," Fouts said.

Since 2012, the County Department of Health has operated with 12 public health sanitarians, or inspectors, covering the area's restaurants. When necessary, inspectors from other programs in the department are brought in to assist with the workload, Clark said.

Most violations among restaurants in 2016

The five Dutchess restaurants with the highest number of critical violations in a single inspection in 2016, according to data from the New York State Department of Health, were:

• Bottomless Belly Deli, in the Town of Poughkeepsie, had 10 critical and 14 noncritical violations on Oct. 28. 
• Simone’s Trattoria, in Hopewell Junction, had six critical and six noncritical violations on March 2.
• Table Talk Diner, in the Town of Poughkeepsie, had six critical and six noncritical violations on Sept. 30.
• Kido Asia Sushi Buffet, in the Town of Poughkeepsie, had six critical and one noncritical violation on April 1. 
• Antonella’s, in Hyde Park, had five critical and four noncritical violations on March 4.

Equipment malfunctions contributed to violations with all five restaurants, and all critical violations were corrected immediately or upon reinspection.

While the Dutchess County Health Department performs reinspections to ensure violations that cannot be immediately remedied are fixed, reinspections do not negate the original inspection.

Inspections at Bottomless Belly Deli found 12 critical violations and 25 noncritical violations over three inspections and two reinspections in 2016. The majority of these violations resulted from the October inspection that found 10 critical violations and 14 noncritical violations.

Most of the violations in the October inspection stemmed from a cold case display which was unplugged, causing foods to fall in the temperature range where bacteria can grow. All affected foods were discarded and the display was plugged in, according to the data.

Critical violations found at Bottomless Belly Deli included cold foods not kept below 45 degrees, refrigerated storage not properly operated, spoiled food on premises, foods not cooled by an approved method and foods not stored under refrigeration.

"These issues were fixed before their reinspection two days later," said deli owner Charles Saunders. He declined to comment further on the violations.

Management with Simone’s Trattoria and Antonella’s declined to comment when asked about the inspections. Management with Kido Asia Sushi Buffet could not be reached after multiple calls to the restaurant.

Simone's accrued seven critical violations and 11 noncritical violations over two inspections and one reinspection in 2016.

Six critical violations and six noncritical violations were discovered during the March 2016 inspection. The inspection noted that a cooler froze up and that another cooler had two nonworking fans, according to the data.

Critical violations included refrigerated storage not present, properly designed, maintained or operated; workers not thoroughly washing their hands; cold foods not kept below 45 degrees; prepared foods touched equipment or surfaces that had contact with raw food; foods not refrigerated; and inaccurate thermometers.

Table Talk Diner accumulated six critical violations and 20 noncritical violations over three inspections and one reinspection in 2016. The majority resulted from the September inspection which found six critical violations and six non-critical violations.

Violations at Table Talk included cold foods not kept below 45 degrees and refrigerated storage not present, properly designed, maintained or operated.

"I work very closely with the health inspector to make sure these mistakes don't happen again," said Nick Vanikiotis, manager at Table Talk. "I wasn't happy with this inspection, but I worked to correct these issues and prevent similar problems in the future."

Inspections at Kido Asia Sushi Buffet found 18 critical violations and 65 noncritical violations over 5 inspections and 3 re-inspections in 2016. The April 2016 inspection, which had the most critical violations, found 6 critical violations and 1 noncritical violation.

Kido Asia Sushi Buffet had not kept cold foods below 45 degrees; enough refrigerated storage equipment was not present, properly designed, maintained or operated; and insects or rodents were present.

Another inspection of Kido Asia Sushi Buffet conducted in January 2016 found 13 critical violations and 26 noncritical violations. However, the restaurant changed operators in March 2016 while keeping the same name, and the Dutchess County Health Department considers this to be an inactive facility, Clark said.

Violations at Antonella's in Hyde Park totaled to six critical and 11 noncritical over three inspections and one reinspection in 2016. The March 2016 inspection resulted in five critical violations and four noncritical violations.

Critical violations included prepared food which touched equipment or surfaces that had contact with raw food; enough refrigerated storage equipment was not present, properly designed, maintained or operated; cold foods not kept below 45 degrees; prepared foods cross-contaminated with raw food; and workers not thoroughly washing hands or changing gloves, according to the data.

School and college violations in 2016

These five Dutchess County schools had the highest number of critical violations in a single inspection in 2016, according to data from the New York State Department of Health:

• Poughkeepsie Day School, in the Town of Poughkeepsie, had four critical violations on Oct. 4
• Oakwood Friends School, in the Town of Poughkeepsie, had two critical and four noncritical violations on Sept. 26
• Millbrook School, in Millbrook, had two critical violations and two noncritical violations on June 29
• Bard College Manor House, in Annandale-on-Hudson, had two critical and one noncritical violation on Oct. 27
• Marist College Library Coffee Shop, in the Town of Poughkeepsie, had two critical and one noncritical violation on Jan. 25

All critical violations were corrected immediately or upon reinspection among these schools.

Poughkeepsie Day School accumulated four critical violations and five noncritical violations over two of its five total inspections. The October inspection found four critical violations, according to the data.

The October inspection found enough refrigerated and hot storage equipment was not present, properly designed, maintained or operated, cold foods not kept below 45 degrees and hot foods not kept above 140 degrees.

"We take every inspection seriously, but this was not a major situation," said Darcy Kelly, business manager at Poughkeepsie Day School, who noted that affected foods were immediately discarded.

Violations at Oakwood Friends School totaled three critical and 16 noncritical over three inspections and two reinspections in 2016.

The September inspection found two critical violations and four noncritical violations, according to the data. Critical violations included enough refrigerated storage not present, properly designed, maintained or operated and cold foods not kept below 45 degrees. 

"All items were immediately addressed and we continue to have a strong working relationship with the regional inspector," said Chad Cianfrani, head of Oakwood Friends School. "The timing of their visit was such that we were in process of fixing a few items and a few weeks away from our quarterly professional ventilation cleaning."

Millbrook School had five critical violations and four noncritical violations over three inspections and two reinspections in 2016.

The June 2016 inspection resulted in two critical violations and two noncritical violations. Inspectors found two instances of hot food not kept above 140 degrees. 

"Our Aramark staff works closely with the health department to ensure that the food served at Millbrook School is of the highest quality and prepared within the safest environment," said Michelle Blayney, director of communications with Millbrook School. Blayney did not comment on the specific inspection.

Bard College Manor House accrued two critical violations and three noncritical violations over two inspections in 2016. The October inspection revealed two critical violations and one noncritical violation.

Violations included enough refrigerated storage not present, properly designed, maintained or operated and cold food not kept below 45 degrees.

"I checked on this and learned that in this one instance, the ‘critical’ violations applied to a single cooler unit that was found to be malfunctioning," said Mark Primoff, director of communications at Bard. "It contained a small amount of food which was, of course, discarded and the cooler was immediately repaired. The other was a light fixture, which was also immediately repaired. There were no illnesses reported. Inspections are indeed helpful in catching the occasional equipment malfunction. We conduct our own in addition to those mandated by the state and have an excellent track record."

The Marist College Library Shop had one inspection, resulting in two critical violations and one noncritical violation, and one reinspection.

Critical violations at the January inspection included cold foods not kept below 45 degrees and enough refrigerated storage not present, properly designed, maintained or operated, according to the data.

"A table-top, reach-in refrigerator that was supposed to keep individual packets of cream cheese at or below 45 degrees was too warm," said Greg Cannon, chief public affairs officer for Marist. "The same unit was cited separately for the same reason with regard to temperatures for milk, which is available to customers for use in their coffee. Both of these violations were corrected on the spot. The affected cream cheese packets were thrown out, and the thermostat on the unit was adjusted to compensate for frequent opening."

Geoffrey Wilson: gwilson@poughkeepsiejournal.com, 845-437-4882, Twitter: Geoff_LW

Most critical violations among restaurants in 2016

The following restaurants had the highest number of critical violations in a single inspection in 2016, according to data from the New York State Department of Health. All violations were either immediately corrected or found corrected upon reinspection.

• Bottomless Belly Deli, Town of Poughkeepsie, Oct. 28: 10 critical violations, 14 noncritical violations 
• Simone’s Trattoria, Hopewell Junction, March 2: 6 critical violations, 6 noncritical violations
• Table Talk Diner, Town of Poughkeepsie, Sept. 30: 6 critical violations, 6 noncritical violations
• Kido Asia Sushi Buffet, Town of Poughkeepsie, April 1: 6 critical violations, 1 noncritical violation
• Antonella’s, Hyde Park, Sept. 30: 5 critical violations, 4 noncritical violations

Most critical violations among schools in 2016

The following schools had the highest number of critical violations in a single inspection in 2016, according to data from the New York State Department of Health. All violations were either immediately corrected or found corrected upon reinspection.

• Poughkeepsie Day School, Town of Poughkeepsie, Oct. 4: 4 critical violations, 0 noncritical violations
• Oakwood Friends School, Town of Poughkeepsie, Sept. 26: 2 critical violations, 4 noncritical violations
• Millbrook School, Millbrook, June 29: 2 critical violations, 2 noncritical violations
• Bard College Manor House, Annandale-on-Hudson, Oct. 27: 2 critical violations, 1 noncritical violation
• Marist College Library Coffee Shop, Town of Poughkeepsie, Jan. 25: 2 critical violations, 1 noncritical violation

Critical violations

• Foods adulterated or received from unapproved sources
• Foods not protected from contamination, temperatures not measures
• Foods not protected from contamination by workers
• Foods not protected from contamination by other sources
• Improper cooling and refrigerated storage of potentially hazardous foods
• Improper hot holding of potentially hazardous foods
• Inadequate cooking and reheating of potentially hazardous foods

Noncritical violations

• Food not protected in general
• Poor hygiene and activities of food workers
• Poor sanitary design, construction, installation of equipment and utensils
• Improper cleaning, washing and sanitizing of equipment and utensils
• Improper sanitary facilities and controls.
• Improper garbage and rubbish disposal
• Inadequate insect/rodent control
• Improper construction and maintenance of physical facilities
• Miscellaneous, economic violation, choking poster, training