‘Mold-like grime’ inside mojo bottles among a Miami CAO Bakery’s food safety problems

Unsavory findings in the mojo, pastelitos and croquetas unfit for sale darkened the state inspection of a CAO Bakery this week.

Wednesday’s failed inspection by the West Miami-Dade CAO, at 14447 SW 42nd St., was conducted by Florida Department of Agriculture Inspectors Wenndy Ayerdis and Margaret Alvarez, who don’t have the power to shut down the bakery over a failed inspection. They do, however, possess the power to drop Stop Sale and Stop Use Orders on food and equipment — and this CAO prompted him to put those powers to use.

Here’s some of what the inspectors found.

▪ “The person in charge does not demonstrate knowledge of the Food Code and Public Health principles as evidenced by having at least one priority violation on the inspection report; having no certified food protection manager for the establishment; and being unable to respond correctly to food safety questions relevant to their food operation.”

▪ There was “no light available in the walk-in cooler to see the condition of food items present,” which might be how staff failed to see “gray and black mold-like grime encrusted on and inside mojo and sour orange bottles” in the walk-in.

Stop Sales sent those bottles into the garbage.

▪ Also in the processing area, “uncovered bread was stored on rolling racks near the table mixer.”

▪ The blade and guard on the processing area deli slicer displayed “old food residue.”

▪ Continuing in the disaster area that was the processing area, there was “no splash guard between the handwash sink and the preparation table where cooked pastries are processed.”

▪ Apparently, nobody thought to stop by Home Depot or Restaurant Depot because “plastic gloves were used as drain stoppers at the warewash sink.”

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▪ The aforementioned walk-in cooler exists to keep food at or under 41 degrees, but couldn’t get below an ambient temperature of 45 to 47 degrees. Stop Use Order on the walk-in cooler and Stop Sales for the cheese, sandwiches, shredded pork, cheesecake and pastelitos inside.

▪ Cheese pastelitos, croquetas, empanadas and mini sandwiches sat in the hot holding unit longer than four hours out of temperature control. Stop Sales all around. Basura.

▪ Then again, this CAO lacked a basic piece of food safety as “no probe was thermometer available in the food establishment to assess cooking, cooling, reheating, hot and cold holding temperatures throughout the establishment.”

▪ In both the processing and food service areas, “food employees did not wash hands between entering and exiting the food preparation area and prior to donning gloves to handle open food items.”

▪ “Wet wiping cloths were placed in front of the handwash sink” between uses instead of sanitizer solution.

Stop Use Order: Processing area walk-in cooler.

Stop Sale Order: Mojo and sour orange bottles (mold-like grime); shredded pork, cheesecake, croquetas, pastelitos, pooled eggs, empanadas (temperature abuse).

Correction: An earlier version of this story misidentified the state inspector.