A popular Ocala fast-food restaurant was forced to temporarily shut its doors recently after a health inspector found 15 violations – six of which were deemed as high priority.
The McDonald’s restaurant, located at 3595 W Silver Springs Blvd., was closed shortly before the lunch hour on Thursday, May 23 after an inspector spotted 32 live flies, 10 roaches, roach excrement and egg sacks inside the building, according to a report on file with the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.
The inspector also reported finding raw beef stored over bags of cooked sausage and chicken in a reach-in freezer and a cleaning solution hanging on a rack near single-service sauces. And a female employee was seen touching a trash can and then continuing to work with food without washing her hands, the report says.
The inspector cited one intermediate violation for a buildup of a mold-like substance in the ice chute at the restaurant’s drive-through drink fountain and an accumulation of food debris in a reach-in cooler.
Eight basic violations also were cited. Those included:
- More than 50 dead flies on a trap in a back room;
- Cove molding missing and roaches present behind existing tile;
- An employee’s personal food stored on a shelf over eggs in a walk-in cooler;
- Plastic dishes on a shelf over a triple sink not properly air-dried;
- Ice buildup on of the bottom of a reach-in freezer near a grill;
- Standing water in two reach-in coolers near the drive-through area;
- An old food label stuck to a pan on a clean dish shelf; and
- A towel at the front of the store not stored in sanitizing solution between uses.
The inspector returned later in the day and cited one intermediate and two basic violations. But the restaurant was allowed to reopen at 2:17 p.m., the report says.