DineSafe.
This is an initiative put forth by Durham Region where signs are used to indicate which local food establishments have passed the test.
And apparently there are a number of restaurants in Oshawa that failed miserably. So it must be time to heed the warning.
Inspection results vary from green, for good, yellow, for mediocre and red for not so good.
In the city, eight restaurants were charged with various offences ranging from improper sterilization to no hairnets and not keeping food at the right temperature.
Now it’s easy to understand how a restaurant can get busy and things may not be up to snuff all the time. But these violations are fairly serious in nature and could affect the health of residents in the city.
With health inspection becoming commonplace one would think restaurants in the city would be more conscious of the regulations needed to pass the test.
One would think they would care about the condition of the food they are serving, or the cleanliness of their establishment.
Some prominent restaurants in the city are facing hefty fines that range from $45 to $375.
What’s more, some convenience stores in the area are facing fines for selling tobacco products to people under 19.
Those fines range from $200 to $600. Of course it is impossible to regulate every customer that comes through the door, but it is mandatory that store clerks ID customers that look under 25.
If they are legal, they will have ID on them. If they are legal they won’t have a problem showing ID.
Most of these violations are common sense and could be avoided. Keep the restaurant clean and follow procedure.
The region releases these results every six months. Hopefully the restaurants under the microscope clean up their act and we can begin to dine safe in the city again.
In the meantime keep an eye out for the following restaurants who had violations: Mandarin at 1319 Airport Blvd., Golden Griddle Family Restaurant/Tequila Willy’s Boot Bar at 145 King St. West, Hong Kong House Restaurant at 89 Simcoe St. South, Bunny’s Food Service Limited at 350 Marwood Drive, Yummy’s House at 1-799 Park Road South, Subway at 199 Wentworth St. West, Halenda’s Fine Foods at 2-1300 King St. East, and the Mayflower Chinese Food at 210 King St. East.