PITTSBURGH — The Allegheny County Health Department has shut down a Thai street food restaurant in Squirrel Hill.
Took Took 98, located on Murray Avenue, was found to have over a dozen violations when inspected on Sept. 16.
Of those violations, four were labeled as high risk for causing foodborne illness, and three were considered imminent hazards.
Most of the high-risk and imminent hazard violations have to do with issues with pests.
According to the report, rodent droppings were found throughout the restaurant, including on a meat grinder, inside a container of cooked rice and on a dry wiping towel on the cookline. Several dead mice were also found in the restaurant’s dry storage room.
The report also states that an employee was seen putting a gloved finger in their mouth after cleaning up rodent droppings.
The report notes that the inspector stopped restaurant operations during the inspection “due to overwhelming contamination of kitchen by rodent droppings.”
An additional imminent hazard listed was that the grease trap connected to the wok station was leaking into a room where food is stored.
Other high-risk violations mentioned in the report include foods stored in boxes that once stored raw chicken, tofu contaminated by shrimp cakes, dishes washed without a sanitization step and a mold-like substance in the ice machine.
Lower-risk violations found include improperly cooled foods, non-food contact surfaces covered in grease, inaccessible handwashing sinks and no trash bins in the restaurant.
Inspectors say the restaurant must complete several tasks before being allowed to reopen, including removing dead rodents and droppings, removing adulterated food, and cleaning and disinfecting all food-contact surfaces.
Click here to see the full inspection report.
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