P.J. Whelihan’s faces multiple food inspection violations

A Franklin Township restaurant was given until Tuesday to correct multiple violations leaving it out of compliance with its retail food facility license.

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Food Safety and Laboratory Services issued a report following an inspection Thursday that the license for P.J. Whelihan’s Pub and Restaurant, 101 N. Harrity Road, Lehighton, would not be renewed until the issues were resolved, and the facility may face $150 or $300 in inspection fees if a second or third follow-up inspection is necessary to achieve compliance.

According to the report, the violations were reviewed with the person in charge, Donna Schirer, who said the information would be provided to the owner for review.

Several of the issues, according to the report, were corrected while the inspector was on site.

The violations cited by the inspector included:

• Person in charge is not monitoring risk factors closely enough related to number of risk factors.

• Food employee observed eating or tasting food in the kitchen area.

• Food employee was observed touching salads — a ready-to-eat food — with bare hands. Employee was explained the need to don gloves after hand wash, when handling RTE foods.

• No sign or poster posted at the handwash sink in the men’s rooms upstairs and downstairs to remind food employees to wash their hands.

• Soap was not available at the handwash sink in the kitchen prep area. Soap dispenser was repaired during the inspection.

• Chicken wings in the upstairs walk-in cooler stored open with no covering. Chicken was covered during the inspection.

• A can opener, a food contact surface, was observed to have food residue and was not clean to sight and touch.

• A commercially processed refrigerated, ready-to-eat, time/temperature control for safety food, deli meats and cheeses, located in the upstairs walk-in coolers, and held more than 24 hours, is not being marked with the date it was opened. All food was date marked correctly during the inspection.

• Spray bottle in upstairs storage area, used for storing cleaners taken from bulk supplies, were not marked with the common name of the chemical. Spray bottle was marked during the inspection.

• Potential rodent harborage areas inside the food facility observed in the dining room and second floor storage areas due to observation of old mouse droppings too numerous to count. Live rodents were not observed during the inspection.

• Food employee observed in salad prep area with soiled outer garments that may contaminate food and/or food equipment.

• Food employee observed in kitchen prep area wearing bracelets on hands or arms. Employee took off bracelets during the inspection.

• Food employees observed in kitchen prep area not wearing proper hair restraints, such as beard covers.

• Observed equipment, in kitchen area, with an accumulation of dust, dirt, food residue, debris on nonfood contact surfaces. Much of the kitchen is in need of a thorough cleaning, which may be contributing to mouse issues.

• Nonfood contact surface, hand rails from second to first floor kitchen, not cleaned at a frequency to preclude accumulation of dirt and soil.

• Nonfood contact surface, vegetable walk-in cooler floor, not cleaned at a frequency to preclude accumulation of dirt and soil.

• Women’s toilet room, upstairs, is not provided with a covered waste receptacle for sanitary napkins.