Just over a week after issuing its first red placard, the state’s food safety inspection program has issued a second, shutting down an Ala Moana Center seafood establishment.
The state Health Department said in a news release that inspections at Blue Water Shrimp and Seafood Market revealed “chronic temperature violations,” and the restaurant was fined $9,000.
Under the inspection program, a green card indicates an establishment has passed, yellow represents a conditional pass and red triggers immediate closure due to a permit suspension.
Blue Water was issued a yellow card Oct. 7, and subsequent inspections from Oct. 9 through Friday revealed multiple violations of temperature requirements for holding perishable food, the Health Department said.
Inspectors met with the owner Thursday, but a follow-up Friday “revealed that foods which require temperature controls, such as raw meat products, were being held above 41 degrees,” the news release said. “The state’s food safety rules require perishable foods be held at temperatures below 41 degrees F to control pathogenic bacterial growth, and prevent the risk of foodborne illnesses or food poisoning.”
The popular Paalaa Kai Bakery in Waialua was shut down Oct. 7 after the Health Department issued a temporary suspension of its food safety permit, also for improper temperature controls.
The bakery received a red placard — the first to be issued to a food establishment in Hawaii since implementation of the color-coded inspection program on July 21, 2014.
In that time the Health Department’s Sanitation Branch has completed more than 9,068 inspections statewide. The vast majority of food establishments in Hawaii are in compliance, meeting all health requirements and displaying green placards.
