Even fancy Asian cuisine restaurants have to protect themselves from roaches and pests. The upscale Red Ginger Sushi and Steak restaurant had several roaches during a March 3, 2020 inspection at the 401 South Tryon Street Charlotte, NC location, which is in the uptown skyscraper area.
Red Ginger scored an 94 A during the inspection, but who wants to eat at a restaurant that had alive roaches during an inspection in the midst of a Coronavoirus pandemic?!
State law requires restaurants to keep the premises free of insects, rodents, and other pests. But an inspector observed alive and dead roaches on the door threshold of the walk-in cooler at Red Ginger. Contact was made with an exterminator.
During the inspection the manager had inadequate knowledge of the employee health policy and what symptoms and illnesses to report. A food safety educational poster was given to the manager to review with the staff.
A Red Ginger employee cracked a raw egg and then continued with cooking duties without washing their hands properly. The inspector intervened and provided education on proper hand washing. Another Red Ginger employee at the dish area was seen using a cell phone and then continuing to handle clean dishes without changing gloves or washing their hands. The inspector stepped in and provided proper hand washing education.
Raw foods were stored above sauces and dressings inside the reach-in low cooler on the line and walk-in cooler. Chicken wings were stored inside grocery bags in the freezer. Sushi rice from the day before was at the sushi bar. The inspector had the rice discarded.
The Red Ginger wait staff was not wearing hair restraints during the inspection. The dish racks were heavily damaged. There was a dust build-up on the walls and the ceiling at the dish area.
Believe it or not, during a June 2019 inspection Red Ginger had chopsticks, soy sauce containers, and linens being stored in the employee bathroom. And during a June 2018 inspection a Red Ginger employee dropped tongs on the floor and then picked the tongs up, taking the tongs to the dish machine to be washed; the employee then started working with raw shrimp with the same pair of gloves on without washing his/her hands from the floor contamination.
In a November 2017 inspection a Red Ginger employee sneezed into their shirt in the food prep area without washing their hands or changing gloves. In a July 2013 inspection employees at Red Ginger were seen eating their lunch on prep surfaces in the kitchen.
