Schools violate health codes

The Orange County Health Care Agency has found major health code violations at four elementary schools in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District during the past year. But most district schools passed recent health inspections with few, if any, problems reported, according to a Daily Pilot review of public records.

Adams, Andersen and Killybrooke elementary schools failed to store cooked food — ranging from cheese pizza to sausage — at sufficiently hot temperatures when a Health Care Agency inspector visited, according to agency inspection reports.

“An improper holding temperature is considered to be a major violation and needs to be remedied during inspection, or the facilities can be closed,” said Tricia Landquist, a spokeswoman for the Health Care Agency.

Health inspectors typically have food service workers re-heat food that is not hot enough, or even throw out food that’s been stored in unsafe conditions, Landquist said.

Food for the majority of district schools is prepared at a central kitchen in Costa Mesa, then transported in heated electric carts, said Richard Greene, the district’s director of nutrition services.

Greene said he has tried to remedy the reports of unsafe food temperatures from the Health Care Agency. The school district measures food temperatures several times to ensure safety before it reaches a student’s lunch tray, he said.

“The process we use is the industry standard,” he said.

The school district also plans to purchase 18 more electrically heated carts to transport food to schools, Greene said.

The Health Care Agency also shut down a cafeteria at Harbor View Elementary last year after an inspector found rodent droppings in a food preparation area, according to an inspection report.

A Health Care Agency inspector visited Harbor View the first Friday of the school year.

The inspector found the droppings on shelves near closed packages of sunflower seeds and raisins, and beneath containers of canned goods, according to a Health Care Agency inspection report.

Problems with rats and mice at schools typically begin in the summer months, when few people are around, Greene said.

It takes only one person to leave a door propped open for mice to sneak inside, he said.

“No matter what, animals will find a way to get in,” Newport-Mesa Unified Spokeswoman Laura Boss said.

The district has since remedied problems at Harbor View by fixing a broken door, Greene said. An outside contractor visits all the schools in the district once a month to look for signs of rodents and other vermin, he said.

Several food preparation sites in the district also have won awards for excellence from the Health Care Agency, including Newport Harbor High School and the district’s central kitchen.

“I think it’s important for people to know that we are held to the same health standards as any restaurant,” Greene said.

Greene said he is proud there has never been a single report of food-borne illness at any Newport-Mesa school during his 12 years with the district.

The school district serves about 11,000 lunches and 5,000 breakfasts at 32 different sites each school day.

Editor’s note: The Daily Pilot has complied a list of the latest inspection reports from the Orange County Health Care Agency for cafeterias at all schools in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District.

Adams Elementary

Date of last inspection: May 15

Major violations: Cheeseburgers were not stored at a sufficient temperature. An employee indicated the food was delivered to the school from the main kitchen about 20 minutes prior to the inspection.

The food was immediately reheated.

Minor violations: none

Andersen Elementary

Date of last inspection: Sept. 8

Major violations: Slices of pepperoni and cheese pizza were not stored at a sufficient temperature. The food was immediately reheated. There was no sanitizer solution to store several soiled cloths that were found around a sink. The violation was immediately corrected.

Minor violations: A health inspector saw an employee touching their eyes and face without washing their hands. Bottles of cleaning chemicals were stored on the same shelf near packages of food.

Back Bay High School

Date of last inspection: March 3

Major violations: none

Minor violations: Hand-washing stickers were missing from a sink and the employee restroom.

California Elementary

Date of last inspection: June 11

Major violations: none

Minor violations: A reach-in freezer was not elevated off the floor to allow for easy cleaning beneath the unit.

A door at the site was not closed to ensure that vermin and other animals could not enter the kitchen.

College Park Elementary

Date of last inspection: June 13

Major violations: none

Minor violations: A copy of the school’s last Health Care Agency report was not available.

Corona del Mar High School

Date of last inspection: May 4

Major violations: none

Minor violations: Sanitizer test strips on site were defective. A back door was left propped open, and an air curtain fan was off.

Costa Mesa High School

Date of last inspection: April 16

Major violations: none

Minor violations: Spaghetti, cheese and cheeseburgers were not stored at sufficient temperatures. A thermometer gauge on a warmer unit was broken and there was no thermometer for a milk cooler in the student area. A faucet in the kitchen was leaking.

There was an accumulation of dirt and debris on a fan screen in a walk-in cooler and an accumulation of slime on a silver panel inside an ice machine.

Davis Magnate School

Date of last inspection: March 30

Major violations: none

Minor violations: none

Eastbluff Elementary

Date of last inspection: March 18

Major violations: none

Minor violations: none

Ensign Intermediate School

Date of last inspection: May 19

Major violations: none

Minor violations: Chicken strips stored in a food warmer were not hot enough. A holding thermometer was missing from the food warmer. Chlorine strips were not present to test sanitizer levels. An accumulation of dust was observed on kitchen equipment.

Old rodent droppings were observed on a fire panel box inside a mechanical room. A few dead cockroaches were observed under the hand wash sink and under a garbage disposal. A health inspector observed no further evidence of vermin.

A sanitizer bucket was unlabeled. Light bulbs inside a cooler and freezer did not work.

Estancia High School

Date of last inspection: June 8

Major violations: none

Minor violations: Ham and cream cheese were not stored at cold enough temperatures in a cooler. Strips used to test sanitizer levels were discolored. Raw eggs were stored above ready-to-eat foods.

Harbor View School

Date of last inspection: Sept. 5, 2008

Major violations: Fresh and old rodent droppings were observed in food preparation areas

Minor violations: Three shelving units were constructed out of unapproved materials (plywood).

A door by the cafeteria cash register was broken.

Dumpster lids were propped open.

Kaiser Elementary

Date of last inspection: June 18

Major violations: none

Minor violations: improper sanitizer concentration levels.

The inspector observed dust accumulation on one of the vent fan covers and metal plates inside a refrigerator.

Killybrooke Elementary

Date of last inspection: June 13

Major violations: Cooked sausages were not hot enough. An employee indicated the food had been cooked two and a half hours prior. The food was reheated to correct the violation.

Minor violations: Hot water at the facility did not reach adequate temperatures.

A health inspector saw mildew accumulated on kitchen equipment.

Lincoln Elementary School

Date of last inspection: Nov. 7

Major violations: none

Minor violations: Turkey sandwiches stored in a cooler were not stored at a cold enough temperature. A health inspector observed accumulated grime and food debris on kitchen equipment and floors and walls. A sink in an employee restroom lacked adequate hot water. Employees’ belongings were stored on a shelf above a food preparation area. An original copy of a food handler certificate was missing for one employee.

Mariners Elementary:

Date of last inspection: May 21

Major violations: none

Minor violations: Test strips to determine adequate sanitizer levels were not available. A bathroom door was propped open. Lightbulbs inside a cooler did not work.

Monte Vista High School

Date of last inspection: Sept. 1

Major violations: none

Minor violations: Packaged pizza, burritos and ham sandwiches in a cooler were not stored at a cool enough temperature. Metal coving was missing from an upright cooler. A few houseflies were observed going in and out of the cafeteria kitchen. An entrance door was propped open. Paper towels were on the floor of the women’s restroom. There was an empty paper towel dispenser above the hand washing sink.

Newport Elementary

Date of last inspection: March 17

Major violations: none

Minor violations: Unauthorized personnel were serving themselves in the kitchen during food service and preparation times. A health inspector observed an accumulation of residue on kitchen equipment. A kitchen door and back door were propped open. Employee belongings were hanging from a food utensil storage shelf. Dumpster lids were propped open. The last Health Care Agency report was unavailable for review.

Newport Coast Elementary

Date of last inspection: Sept. 8, 2008

Major violations: none

Minor violations: A cardboard box was being used to line the bottom of a freezer. A health inspector observed black mildew at the bottom of a milk cooler. Employee belongings were stored on a shelf above a food preparation table. There was no hand wash sign posted at a station near the employee restroom.

Newport Harbor High School

Date of last inspection: March 31

Major violations: none

Minor violations: none

Newport Heights Elementary

Date of last inspection: June 13

Major violations: none

Minor violations: A back door air curtain was disengaged, and the door was propped open. Dumpster lids were propped open. A light bulb inside a cooler did not work.

Paularino Elementary

Date of last inspection: March 6

Major violations: None

Minor violations: An open box of brown sugar was stored in a cabinet above the microwave. Bottles of detergents were stored next to bottles of water on a shelf.

Pomona Elementary

Major violations: none

Minor violations: A sanitizer spray bottle was mislabeled as water.

Rea Elementary

No report immediately available

Sonora Elementary

Date of last inspection: June 3

Major violations: none

Minor violations: none

TeWinkle Intermediate School

Date of last inspection: June 11

Major violations: none

Minor violations: A health inspector saw accumulated mildew on the interior of an ice machine. A reach-in freezer was not elevated to allow for easy cleaning. A section of flooring in a storage area was in a state of disrepair.

Victoria Elementary

Date of last inspection: June 6

Major violations: none

Minor violations: A door handle on a cabinet was loose

Whittier Elementary

Date of last inspection: June 18

Major violations: none

Minor violations: One fly was observed in the kitchen area. A back door to the kitchen area was propped open.

Employee belongings were stored next to boxes of food. There were no paper towels for washing hands inside a dispenser in the kitchen area.

Wilson Elementary

Date of last inspection: June 6

Major violations: none

Minor violations: A health inspector observed two or three dead crickets on the floor underneath a shelf in a storage room. No further evidence of vermin was discovered. There was an accumulation of dirt and debris on the floor of a storage room.

Woodland Elementary

Date of last inspection: May 9

Major violations: none

Minor violations: A health inspector saw a tray and pan stored on the floor.