Health violations for 2 Island restaurants

P.E.I. health inspectors have issued warning letters to two Island restaurants.

By the River Bakery and Cafe in Hunter River and the Albert and Crown Pub and Eatery in Alberton have both been warned about a number of violations.

Violations at By the River were found after a routine inspection on March 28.

Same cafe closed in February

"Issues around cold holding, temperatures of food, adequate hand washing facilities were not in place at the time, single- use disposable towels and soap not in proper place," said Ryan Neale, manager of environmental health for the province.

"And there was also a failure to wash hands as often as necessary when our inspectors were observing. And a few other violations there as well."

Inspectors issued a warning because of what Neale called the cafe's "compliance history." Inspectors also closed By the River for three days in February.

The restaurant had 12 violations then, including failure to maintain potentially-hazardous food at appropriate temperature, failure to provide adequate hand-washing facilities, and failure to receive, store, process and/or transport food or food packaging materials under conditions that prevent contamination.

"If we continue to see violations there, especially repeat violations, there's certainly a potential for further action," Neale said. "At this point we are continuing to work with the operator to make sure the issues are resolved." 

At the Albert and Crown Pub and Eatery, Neale said a routine inspection last December found violations.

The restaurant closed for a time in the winter and when it reopened, inspectors went back to do a follow-up inspection March 29, and found three of the same violations including failure to maintain potentially-hazardous food at the appropriate temperatures, failure to verify that appropriate temperatures are obtained and maintained for the high-temperature dishwasher, and failure to maintain records of sanitizer strength.

Provincial officials are working with the owners of both restaurants to rectify the issues.

All food premises licenses on P.E.I. expire at the end of March, Neale noted, so inspectors will also be checking for their renewal. 

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