TOWN OF MASHPEE
BOARD OF HEALTH – PUBLIC MEETING
Minutes of the Meeting of Monday, May 22, 2006
Board Members Present: Also Present:
Steven Ball, Chairman Glen Harrington, Health Agent
Lucy Burton, Co-Chairman Veronica Warden, Assistant Health Agent
Glenn Santos, Clerk
Chairman Steven Ball called the meeting to order at 3:05 PM.
APPOINTMENTS
Star Market #581 – Emergency Closure
Glen Harrington opened the meeting with a review of the events that led up to the emergency closure of Star Market #581on Friday, May 19, 2006.
On May 3, 2006, Veronica Warden, Assistant Health Agent, did a food inspection at the facility. At that time, 22 violations were found: 2 critical and 20 non-critical. The two critical violations found were (1) toilets were not operating in both the public and employee bathrooms, and (2), outdated foods were found in several departments in the store. Twenty four hours was given to correct those criticals, and 30 days to correct the remaining 20 non-critical violations.
On 5/19/06, Glen Harrington and Lucy Burton conducted a follow-up inspection at the facility. At that time, more repeated critical violations were found. Glen Harrington and Lucy Burton discussed their findings with the other Board of Health members, and it was agreed that an emergency closing of the facility was in order. Additional violations that contributed to this decision included leaks in the roof, and a major water problem in the main cooler where water, during the defrost cycle, was dripping down onto the food, and water was coming through into the refrigerator. The racks in the meat case were rusted. The cold storage temperatures were okay, but all things being considered, the decision was made to do an emergency closure because of the health hazards associated with the water coming from the cooler and
also the outdated foods that were found throughout the store. One shopping cart was filled with outdated breads, and the seafood egg rolls in the deli case were found to be outdated as well.
On 5/22/06, another inspection was conducted by BOH member Lucy Burton and Assistant Health Agent Veronica Warden to determine whether the facility was complying with correction of the critical violations so that they could be re-opened. Veronica Warden reported that they found outdated frozen food, and also the hot water temperature was still below the 110 degree requirement. All other critical violations had been corrected.
Lucy Burton reported that although the two critical violations still existed, the store looked much better. A lot of painting and repair work had been done, and many of the non-critical violation items had been addressed. The facility is now using a freezer truck backed into the loading dock to store freezer items until the freezer is repaired.
Steven Ball then opened up the meeting to the public for comments.
Dennis Kwider, Director of Quality Assurance for Star Market, introduced himself to the Board. He stated that a plumber had been in to check the hot water temperature to correct the problem.
Veronica Warden commented that the water pressure in the ladies room was also a problem that needed to be corrected.
Glenn Santos commented that the freezer problem has been chronic for the past few years, and questioned Mr. Kwider’s accountability and the internal checks and protocol followed by Star Market. Glenn made the observation that it had taken a shut down of the facility to get action.
Lucy Burton voiced her concern that the store has had a history of violations and complaints, with repeated criticals such as outdated foods that were found on the shelves on 5/19/06 and again today on 5/22/06. Lucy Burton stated that Mr. Kwider needed to clarify the reason for the breakdown in the procedures for stocking/getting rid of out-of-date food.
Dennis Kwider responded that they now have a daily co-check area. Meats, vegetables and other perishables such as baked goods will be checked daily and signed off by the checker. A meeting is planned with the store associates as well as the three individuals assigned to checking the shelves to stress the extreme importance of checking carefully the expiration codes on the store items.
Lucy Burton asked for clarification as to the blue stickers found on items in the various departments. The deli department stated that the sticker dates referred to the dates the items were recelved. The meat department stated that the dates did not mean anything. Lucy stated that she was told by Mike Zajko, Store Manager, that the dates on the seafood eggrolls were the expiration dates. The staff needs to be given clarification as to the policy regarding the date stickers in the various departments.
Lucy Burton also asked for clarification as to the shopping carts found in various locations throughout the store that were full of food. Are these items good, or are they outdated items that have been pulled off the shelves? The store management used the term “organized chaos” to describe this situation.
Cheron P. Morris, attorney for Shaw’s Supermarkets Inc., introduced herself to the Board, and then stated that the shopping cart item was another issue that the store will be investigating. Ms. Morris will be reviewing all store policies and will be instituting necessary changes that have been highlighted by the Board. The training policy is an important issue at the store which will be addressed immediately.
Glen Harrington asked Mike Zajko how often the QAQC checks occur and whether they are conducted by an outside firm. Mike responded that they are done bi-monthly, and are done by an outside firm. Cheron Morris stated that Shaw’s Supermarkets Inc. has market area directors who visit the various stores periodically in their assigned regions to inspect conditions. Glen Harrington stated that his first stop on inspection of the store was the customer service desk, and found the formica top worn brown, with all of the white finish worn off, which was an immediate indication that the store was run down. Upon further inspection, he found ceiling tiles water damaged and moldy, the wall behind the meat slicer had been banged up so often that there were paint chips falling onto the food surfaces in
the deli, and these are all things that the customers see. Glen’s question was why, when these problems are so obvious, the QAQC inspectors would not see these normal maintenance issues and do something to correct the violations.
Veronica Warden commented that the floor in the freezer needs to be resurfaced. Dennis Kwider stated that painting the floor would be a mistake. An epoxy or membrane-type floor which would not chip would be selected by the store.
Glenn Santos inquired as to why the BOH violation signs were removed from the front entrance to the store after the store had been closed on Friday, May 19th. It was determined that the signs had been removed as a result of a verbal misunderstanding between Mike Zajko and Veronica Warden. As a result, no fines were imposed by the Board.
Steven Ball then closed the public hearing and re-opened discussion among the BOH. Glen Harrington made the following recommendations to the Board.
1) there should be maintenance personnel kept on the site who has the ability to maintain the building
2 a third party consultant should be contracted to do the training as well as the quality control and compliance for food code violations
3) a schedule for the roof repair needs to be established
Glenn Santos made a motion to approve the reopening of the Star Market #581, after inspection, with the following conditions:
1) the temperature of the hot water is brought up to 110 degrees immediately
2) the store will be on probation for one year
3) any first critical violation will be fined $100 per day; any repeat critical violation will result in closure of the store, with 24 hours to correct the violation before reopening
4) roof repair within 10 days
5) submittal of written internal policies on out of date checks and food service preparations
6) $100 fine for the water temperature critical violation; $500 total fine for three repeated critical violations of outdated food , the fines to be paid by Friday, May 26th, 2006.
7) freezer must be repaired by Friday, May 26th, 2006.
8) a third party training consultant with commercial retail establishment experience must be contracted, with a contract agreement by 6/07/06 presented to the BOH for their review
9) Consultants will be hired for six months, with weekly checks per month and monthly checks for 6 months
Lucy Burton seconded the motion. All approved.
As there was no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 4:15 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Ina G. Schlobohm
Recording Secretary
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