Owner of Chez Riz says they will be open as soon as they can be re-inspected

A10

By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
canadaeast news service

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FREDERICTON - A Fredericton restaurant has had its licence revoked after an inspection Tuesday found three pages worth of items needing correction.

Chez Riz, which opened in July 2005, serves Indian and Pakistani cuisine at its Queen Street location.

Rizwan Ul-Haq was working at the restaurant yesterday evening, trying to correct the deficiencies identified in his March 17 inspection.

He's promising to keep a closer eye on the establishment and he's hoping inspectors will give him a clean report today after a re-inspection.

"I will be ready today or tomorrow. He'll (the inspector) check everything and we'll be fine," Ul-Haq said. "I will give more attention to this, because I've never had any problem. I was always on green until the day before yesterday. They've checked a couple of times and everything was fine."

A green colour code, according to the government's restaurant inspection website, means an establishment has only a couple of minor problems. It's the government's top rating for a restaurant.

Ul-Haq said one of his problems is that the restaurant's building was recently flooded due to a leaking roof and melting snow.

"That snow melted and I don't know how it began leaking. We put plastic and it happened in the kitchen as well," he said. "At the same time, the inspector came. If you see the report, I have no problem with the food."

The Health Department's inspection report, however, identified frozen samosas stored on newspaper with a metal pan on top in one freezer, and raw chicken stored on top of cooked food.

In both cases, the cooked food and the samosas were discarded while the public health inspector was present, Ul-Haq said, which is confirmed in the inspection report posted online on the government's website.

"It was a small plastic bag (of chicken) and it was sealed, and someone put it by mistake on the top shelf. Usually, we put it in the bottom. I don't know how it happened because I wasn't in the kitchen," said Ul-Haq, who's also the chef at the restaurant.

He said the rest of his food products are fine.

"Our hot and cold temperatures were good. They checked it with a meter. Everything was OK," he said. "Our problem was the mess and the cleaning thing.

"Everything is going to be cleaned. They came at our rush time. Everything will be as it used to be."

The inspection report said the walk-in refrigerator needed cleaning and knives under a steam table were dirty. A large can opener was dirty.

"Workers shall wear clean outer garments. Food handlers must ... attend a food safety course. Cutting boards must be discarded, The exhaust hood is very dirty. Must be cleaned on a regular basis," said the report.

Shelves under a steam table required cleaning.

"Unsure if dishwashing is reaching cleaning temperature. Also, chemical feed (sanitizer solution) may not be working," it said.

"Surfaces, such as floors, walls and ceilings, shall be cleaned regularly to prevent accumulation of dirt and food residue," stated the report.

Food inside fridges is to be kept covered and the seal around the walk-in fridge requires repair.

Basement dry good storage must be kept off the floor and food in the dry storage area must be kept covered, said the report.

Chemicals were stored next to a jug of vinegar, which was corrected at the time of inspection.

There was no soap in the hand sink in the staff washroom.

There was also a damaged ceiling above the vent hood in the food preparation area, the report said.

Foods must be properly labelled with item name and ready-to-eat food has to be labelled with the preparation date and best-before date, the report stated.

Containers had to be of food-grade materials which can be washed, rinsed and sanitized.

The inspection report was reviewed with the district medical officer of health before the licence was revoked.

In 2008, Chez Riz was mentioned in the national Where to Eat in Canada guide, along with Racine's and Dimitri's.

An explanation of the Health Department's restaurant inspection system, and inspection reports, can be found at the Department of Health website at www.gnb.ca. Click on the restaurant inspection icon on its home page, or go to http://www1.gnb.ca/0601/fseinspectresults.asp.