Born to Squint, Forced to See ⚜️

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Joined 1 month ago
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Cake day: April 26th, 2025

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  • Sadly, when it comes to health code violations, this is par for the course (no pun intended). Most health code violations, even when severe, are looked past so long as the business “takes steps to rectify the issue”.

    So for example, lets say you have a rat infestation so bad it presents a public health risk. If you hire a pest controller or put out some traps, then the health department will let it go. Even if the steps you take never actually solve the problem. Attempting to solve the problem is considered satisfactory, even if the problem continues to exist and present a threat.

    Only in cases of the most extreme gross negligence have I ever seen any place shut down completely and forced to stop business operations until they turn it around. Sadly, 33%/100% on an assessment is probably not in “shut it down now” territory. Although I think everyone agrees that should be bad enough to shut something down, our health departments are kind of like the TSA of protecting you from foodborne illness and other dangers. They dont really stop things themselves so much as their existence tends to scare people into self-regulated compliance

    E: I just checked to see what the actual violations were:

    Among the violations at the Bedminster club were failing “all three requirements in the ‘food protected from contamination’ category, with violations including expired milk, raw meat stored improperly and a dishwasher that may not reach the required temperature,” noted the report. “The inspector also cited four separate hand-washing violations, including sinks without soap or paper towels, one lacking a required sign and another used to store a sanitizer bucket.”

    I hate to burst anyones’ bubble, but these are things likely occurring at basically every place you have eaten at in the past year. Despite being the most basic compliance issues in food service. No one cares and the health department wont shut anyone down for these violations so long as they fix it now. Then they will go back to doing whatever in a month