Popular Thai-inspired restaurant hit with consumer alert after repeat high, medium risk violations

PITTSBURGH — A popular restaurant in Shadyside was hit with a consumer alert after a recent inspection.

Noodlehead, a Thai-inspired restaurant on Highland Avenue in Shadyside, was issued the alert after an inspection on Aug. 25 found 15 violations.

According to an Allegheny County Health Department inspection report, four of the violations found were considered high risk of causing foodborne illness.

Per the inspection report, a variety of foods, including bean sprouts, cooked tofu, cooked or chopped vegetables and cooked shrimp were held out of temperature control. The report labels this as a repeat violation.

Inspectors also reportedly saw cross-contamination of raw chicken onto a customer’s plate. Specifically, they say they saw a clothespin placed into the container of raw chicken, then set on the edge of a plate while the customer’s order was being prepared.

The report noted a high-risk employee hygiene violation. Inspectors say an employee was seen eating while wearing gloves, then rinsing those gloves in a sink and returning to preparing food on the cook line. This was also a repeat violation.

There were also 10 lower-risk violations, including improper cooling of cooked food, lack of soap in the kitchen, an inconsistent and incomplete date-marking system and the person in charge didn’t have a Certified Food Protection Manager certificate.

At the bottom of the report, inspectors note that there was an administrative conference in February to discuss repeat medium and high risk violations with the restaurant owner and management team.

“Violations discussed during that conference continue to occur as reflected in today’s report. Facility lacks managerial controls, effective training plans and standard operating procedures,” the report states.

For the consumer alert to be removed, inspectors say three things must occur:

• A minimum of three back-of-house employees must register for Certified Food Protection Manager course.
• Complete documented personal hygiene training for all employees.
• Training on proper hot holding, cold holding, and cooling practices for all food handlers

See the full report below

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