PITTSBURGH — A chain breakfast restaurant’s location in Pittsburgh’s South Side was hit with a consumer alert.
Inspectors found a dozen violations at the Waffles INCaffeinated location on East Carson Street on Tuesday, including three that are considered high-risk of causing foodborne illness.
Those high-risk violations were identified as cold holding temperatures, cleaning and sanitation, and pest management — which is a repeat violation.
According to the inspection report, rodent droppings were found throughout the restaurant, including underneath all dining booths, and 18 dead mice were found on glue traps beneath the booths. Inspectors require the restaurant to remove all rodent droppings and dead mice, thoroughly clean and disinfect the premises and increase the frequency of professional pest control.
Additionally, raw eggs and cheese were found stored at too warm of temperatures in a cooler, there was “severe accumulation” of a black mold like substance in the ice machine and old food was found on kitchen equipment.
Other lower level violations cited in the inspection report include kitchen floors with excessive grease build up, ventilation issues, an expired health permit on display and staff items stored in food preparation areas.
A spokesperson for Waffles INCaffeinated sent Channel 11 the following statement:
“We at Waffles, INCaffeinated apologize to our Carson St. customers for a recent poor ACHD inspection. The responsibility is all mine. We have excellent staff at our Carson location. However, in our checklist system, we had failed to add an area, out of customer and food direct contact, where we had pest control, as required by ACHD for all restaurants. We have added this neglected area to our checklists. We are to be reinspected tomorrow, Friday, and expect success. In the interim, are open as allowed by ACHD and have completed ACHD requests.
Click here for the full report.
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