Olympia sushi restaurant appeals closure. Here are Thurston food safety scores for Oct. 19
Thurston County closed an Olympia sushi restaurant for two days last week, citing unsafe food practices, but the owner has complaints about the inspection.
Nori Sushi and Teriyaki closed on Oct. 10 after an inspector tallied 115 points, according to a statement from the county’s Food and Environmental Services Section Staff.
“The violations identified during the inspection posed a risk to public health, leaving us with no alternative but to take immediate action to protect the safety of Nori Sushi’s patrons,” staff said.
The restaurant had 110 red points, which are most likely to cause food borne illness, and 5 blue points, which relate to the overall cleanliness and conditions of the operation, according to public inspection notes.
The county allowed the restaurant to reopen on Oct. 12 after a reinspection verified it was operating safely, staff said. Stephanie Oh, co-owner of the restaurant described the initial inspection as traumatizing and she is appealing part of the inspector’s findings.
“I would like for customer to know that serving delicious, healthy and safe food is our priority,” Oh said. “They can rest assured that nothing is being violated right now.”
Oh said most of the violations involved procedure issues and her family works hard to keep the restaurant clean. She added they quickly addressed all the violations within the 72-hour closure period.
“I have high respect for the county health department,” Oh said. “This one experience was really traumatizing. But I know as a whole, that they work very hard to support the public and support small businesses.”
The inspection and closure took a financial and mental toll on Oh and her family. She said they felt “overly punished” and the closure cost them upwards of about $6,000 in lost sales and other costs.
Oh also alleged the inspector acted unprofessionally because she laughed and giggled as she tallied up the points.
“I don’t think she (the inspector) was taking her role seriously,” Oh said. “I don’t know what the joke was but she was about to close a restaurant and this restaurant is what pays for all my family’s bills.”
When asked about Oh’s allegations, FESS staff said they understood the inspection results may have caused distress to Oh and her family. They also apologized for “any inconvenience it may have caused.”
“We are genuinely sorry to hear about Oh’s negative experience during the inspection, our utmost priority is to maintain professionalism and provide a comfortable environment for those we are working with to ensure positive relationships and pleasant interactions are sustained when the community is working with Thurston County staff,” staff said.
One violation noted during the initial inspection indicated that a worker washed their gloved hands after changing tasks rather than washing their hands and donning new gloves.
Oh said the worker was cooking chicken with tongs and went to clean their glove while keeping to that task. She added she is appealing this finding.
FESS staff said workers are required to discard single-use gloves when they are damaged or soiled in accordance with WAC 246-215-02310 & WAC 246-215-03342. In this case, they said the inspector believed the glove was contaminated by chicken that was not fully cooked.
“The tongs and gloves do act as barriers between the food handler and the food; however, once the gloves are damaged or soiled with food that is not ready-to-eat or undercooked, this is considered a contamination, prompting a proper glove change that requires handwashing,” staff said.
Food safety scores for Oct. 19
Comments are taken directly from the latest Thurston County Public inspection reports, which are available for each food establishment, at the Thurston County Environmental Health Office and their website. For questions concerning these reports, contact the health office at 360-867-2667.
Report restaurant, grocery store, deli or bakery complaints online via the complaint form here: https://www.thurstoncountywa.gov/phss/Pages/eh-problem.aspx.
Reading inspection scores:
- Attention should be given to the type of violation (red versus blue) and whether the establishment has a history of red violations or repeat violations.
- Red violations are those most likely to cause food-borne illness and must be corrected immediately if feasible or according to a compliance schedule established by the health officer. Example: not keeping food at the right temperature.
- Blue violations relate to the overall cleanliness and condition of operation and must be corrected according to a compliance schedule established by the health officer. Example: a worn floor that needs replacing.
- If red points exceed 45, the county will require a reinspection within 10 business days.
- If red points exceed 100 and there’s a lack of managerial control, the county will shut down the establishment for at least 72 hours. The establishment may reopen after management and employees complete retraining and demonstrate corrective action during a reinspection.
- Some common abbreviations: PHF/TCS is potentially hazardous food/time control for safety; RTE is ready to eat; PIC is person in charge; FWC is food worker card; CDI is corrected during inspection.
Nori Sushi and Teriyaki
2915 Harrison Ave. Northwest, Olympia
Oct. 10: 110 red points; 5 blue points.
- Comments:
- A worker was observed washing their gloved hands after changing tasks. Workers must wash their hands for at least 20 seconds before donning gloves. The worker removed their gloves and washed their hands during the inspection. Oh contends the worker was not changing tasks and she is appealing this finding.
- Partially cooked chicken was observed cooling while covered in 2-inch pans in the walk-in cold hold. Two pans of chicken were discarded during the inspection and 3 pans of chicken that were cooked less than four hours ago were reheated to 165 degrees during the inspection.
- Sushi rice was observed at 110 degrees while in room temperature storage. TCS foods must be kept at or above 135 degrees, at or below 41 degrees or stored according to a written time as a control plan. The person-in-charge marked the rice for time as a control during the inspection.
- Half and half was observed at 47 degrees in a one-door reach in cold hold. Crab was observed at 43 degrees as well. TCS foods must be kept at or below 41 degrees.
- The consumer advisory on the menu lacked a disclosure statement. Menus must include a disclosure statement and reminder statement. Oh said she changed her sushi menu the next day to include asterisks next to every single item to address this violation.
- The in-use chlorine sanitizer was too strong as prepared. The sanitizer was diluted and remade during the inspection.
- Test strips for the in-use chlorine sanitizer were unavailable during the inspection.
- The food establishment used a noncontinuous cooking process without having a written procedure at the time of the inspection. Oh said she has since produced a written procedure.
Left Bank Pastry
1941 East 4th Ave. East, Olympia
Oct. 11: 0 red points; 3 blue points.
Comments:
- The restroom doors did not self-close as required. The inspector directed them to fix this violation by Oct. 25.
No violations:
- Courtyard by Marriott, 2201 Henderson Park Lane Southeast, Olympia.
This story was originally published October 19, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
