Pink ice machine slime, flies & more in latest worst Myrtle Beach, SC area restaurant inspections
The latest restaurant inspections by the South Carolina Department of Agriculture found mildew in an ice machine, flies in a kitchen, unsafe food temperatures and more. Since the Department of Health and Environmental Control was eliminated, the SCDA has taken over regular health and safety inspections of retail food establishments in the state.
In general, SCDA gives restaurants scoring between 88 and 100 points A grades, restaurants scoring 78-87 points B grades and restaurants scoring 77 points or fewer C grades. However, the department sometimes lowers grades for restaurants that have consecutive violations, are under enforcement action or are under pending enforcement actions, including imminent health hazards, permit suspensions or permit revocations.
Of the 252 restaurant inspections conducted in Horry and Georgetown County between Sept. 26 and Oct. 16, SCDA gave three restaurants C grades and eight B grades. However, only four restaurants actually scored below 88 points. Here’s what inspectors found.
2144 Oakheart Road, Myrtle Beach, 29575
Score: 78
At a routine inspection of King Kong Sushi Bar and Grill on Oct. 16 there was mildew and pink slime in the ice machine, fly traps hanging over a fry station table and self service containers, and crab sticks and raw calamari stored at unsafe temperatures.
State regulations require that sushi rice is marked with a time so the establishment can track how long it’s safe to eat. According to the report, it appeared that the same sticker marked with time was used every day.
Other violations included using bowls without handles to scoop food, improperly thawing roe and chicken, and leaving large containers of tea uncovered. A follow-up inspection is scheduled for Oct. 26.
740 Coastal Grand Circle, Myrtle Beach, 29577
Score: 80
The Department of Agriculture conducted a routine inspection of Abuelo’s Mexican Food Embassy on Oct. 14 due to non-compliance in previous limited-scope complaint inspections and found a “heavy presence of flies” in the kitchen and build up on cooking equipment and kitchen floors.
The inspection also noted that the kitchen dish machine had insufficient levels of sanitizer, hot foods like cooked meat and fried peppers weren’t kept at adequately warm temperatures and cold foods like shrimp, fish and sour cream were stored at temperatures that weren’t cool enough.
A follow-up inspection will be conducted on Oct. 26.
10008 Ocean Highway, Pawleys Island, 29585
Score: 81
An Oct. 15 routine inspection of Gio’s Italian Kitchen found several violations including foods like butter, pork and tiramisu stored at unsafe temperatures and ready-to-eat foods like noodles, cheese and chopped vegetables stored without dates.
The inspection also noted that a cooler wasn’t sufficiently cold, a cup without handles was used to scoop spices, shellfish weren’t stored chronologically and employees handled food without gloves on. A follow-up inspection is scheduled for Oct. 25.
10088 Highway 707, Myrtle Beach, SC, 29575
Score: 85
A routine inspection of Lance Self Serve on Oct. 10 found several violations, including the C grade decal half-torn off, an accumulation of debris on shelves and dirty floors. There was also no water at the hand sinks, which the report states are in poor condition and difficult to access because the floor was “covered in excessive items.”
The inspection also found plates of ready-to-eat chicken wings and sausage stored without marked dates in a walk-in refrigerator. According to the report, the owner said the food was his but he had been told to separate personal food from commercial food at the previous inspection.
An inspector’s comments in the report said, “[the owner] is currently not serving food at this time,” and noted that the owner left abruptly, refusing to sign the report. A follow-up inspection was conducted on Oct. 18, but the report is not yet available on the food grades website.
Lance Self Serve was referred to enforcement for failing to correct consecutive violations, a representative for SCDA told The Sun News.
According state law, retail food establishment referred to enforcement can be fined $1,000 penalty for each violation for each day of noncompliance. Other enforcement action can include civil penalties, permit suspension, permit revocation or a combination of the three.