Downtown restaurant gets high hazard rating

Ivy's Family Kitchen received a high hazard rating after a complaint-driven inspection took place by Northern Health on Friday.

There were several critical violations on the list along with a repeat of food not protected from contamination. Raw fish pickled in a jar used for personal consumption was seen stored on the top shelf of the walk-in refrigerator above fruits and vegetable. Two large employee drinking bottles without lids containing straws and a chewing gum box was observed placed next to cutting boards on steel food preparation table.This was corrected during the inspection, according to Northern Health.

A critical violation occurred for equipment/utensils/food contact surfaces not maintained in sanitary condition. Food contact surfaces in the kitchen and prep areas were not being sanitized. Sanitizer bottles and cloths were not available in these area but was corrected during inspection. Employees lacked knowledge of proper sanitation and need education on these practices.

Another critical violation occurred as cutlery is placed on the table for the customers to pick from and that is a challenge to do without contaminating the other pieces of cutlery that will be used by the next customers. This was a critical violation in the equipment/utensils/food contact surfaces not maintained in sanitary condition category. The unsanitary and contaminated cutlery may pose a risk of illness when used by another customer.

Another critical violation was adequate handwashing stations not available for employees. The hot water faucet in the kitchen handwashing station has been out of order for a week and should be fixed by Monday. It was observed employees were using gloves but were not washing their hands while changing gloves or when touching unsanitary surfaces. Hand washing is an important practice to ensure foods are protected from cross contamination from other previously handled foods or contact surfaces.

Another violation occurred when unlabelled spray bottles were being used and that presents a risk of misuse of the chemical, cross contamination and ineffective cleaning and sanitation of food contact surfaces.

It was noted that a follow-up is required.