Expired deli meats and broken knives cited at Presidente Supermarket in Pompano Beach

Pompano Beach, Florida – Expired deli meats, broken knife blades and food held at unsafe temperatures were among the problems documented during an October 5 state inspection of a Presidente Supermarket in Pompano Beach.

Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Inspector Timothy O’Neil visited the store at 277 S. Pompano Pkwy. His report described violations across several departments, including the kitchen, meat counter, produce section and seafood display.

The report opened with a broad finding that went beyond any single piece of equipment or package of food.

“A pattern of non-compliance was observed as evidenced by violations for handwashing, cooling, hot holding, and sanitization.”

Several findings resulted in stop-sale orders. Those orders covered deli meats that had passed their disposal dates, cut melons that were too warm, improperly held hot foods and seafood kept above the required temperature.

In the deli, cooked ham should have been discarded on October 4, while low-sodium ham was due for disposal on October 3. Habanero mortadella should have been removed on October 2. Smoked Canadian bacon reached its disposal date on October 5, the day of the inspection.

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All four products received stop-sale orders under the seven-day limit described in the inspection account. The findings involved multiple opened meats rather than a single overlooked item.

Temperature checks led to more food being pulled from sale.

Watermelon, honeydew and cantaloupe cut at 8:30 a.m. registered between 46 and 51 degrees when checked at 1 p.m. The cut fruit received stop-sale orders. In the kitchen, an opened can of tomato purée measured 76 degrees five hours after opening and was also ordered out of sale.

The hot-food area had the opposite problem. Items that should have been held at 135 degrees or higher measured between 81 and 124 degrees about four hours after preparation.

The affected foods included pastelitos, croquetas, empanadas, ham and cheese empanadas, and french fries. The inspection account listed fillings and varieties including potato, cheese, ham, chorizo, chicken and beef. Stop-sale orders required the affected foods to be discarded.

At the seafood display, raw salted cod fillets and fish heads placed in the case at 7 a.m. measured 51 degrees at noon. That was roughly 10 degrees above the required cold-holding temperature. Both received stop-sale orders.

The inspection also raised concerns about the tools and surfaces used to prepare food.

“Three knives used in food preparation have broken blades” in the produce department, according to the report. Three more knives with broken blades were found in the kitchen, bringing the total documented across those two areas to six.

In the meat department, O’Neil observed “Beef sirloin that was being cut on meat cutting benches…that had not been sanitized in over four hours.”

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The cleaning lapse extended to other equipment. Cutting benches, a deli slicer, bandsaws, knives and scrapers first used at 7 a.m. had not been cleaned and sanitized by 12:30 p.m. Knives stored on a wall were attached to a magnetic holder with a buildup of rust.

Handwashing was another issue. In the kitchen, a “food employee did not wash hands before donning new gloves when returning to department to work with open food.”

Elsewhere, wet wiping cloths were left on work surfaces rather than stored in sanitizer. In the meat service area, cloths sat “on cutting tables next to bandsaws” and were also found on food service preparation tables.

O’Neil documented accumulated dirt and food residue throughout the facility. The lower shelves of kitchen preparation tables “have a build up of old food debris,” the report stated. Similar buildup was found on rice and flour containers beneath the tables and on racks above them.

The inspector also noted a “large buildup of dust and black soil on and near various cooler doors.”

Coffee equipment drew a separate citation. The “knock board for coffee grounds has a buildup of old food debris.”

Disposable food-service supplies were not adequately protected either. Styrofoam trays in the meat department had been removed from their original container, leaving them exposed to airborne contamination. Styrofoam cups and containers near the steam table were similarly exposed.

Taken together, the October 5 findings covered food storage, employee hygiene, damaged utensils and routine cleaning. The stop-sale orders addressed the affected foods, while the remaining citations documented problems with the equipment and practices used throughout the store’s food departments.