Sacramento Cheesecake Factory cited for food safety violations. What did inspectors find?

Sacramento County health inspectors shut down a local falafel restaurant after discovering that it did not have hot water.

Eleven other restaurants and markets, including The Cheesecake Factory and Fire Wings locations in Sacramento, received citations for food safety violations ranging from mold to rodent droppings to cockroaches.

While a yellow placard signals two or more major violations, these are typically corrected or mitigated during the inspection, according to the Sacramento County Food Inspection Guide.

A red placard, however, signals “imminent danger to public health and safety” and suspends the health permit until violations are corrected. This could include, but is not limited to, major vermin contamination.

In contrast, a green placard means a restaurant passed inspection.

The county performs about 14,000 inspections annually, with 97% of establishments passing, spokesman Ken Casparis previously told The Sacramento Bee.

Approximately 1% of inspections result in a closure, he said.

Here are the results of Sacramento County food facility inspections for Thursday, Feb. 13, through Wednesday, Feb. 19, as of Thursday afternoon:

If an inspection listed below needs clarification, business owners can email The Sacramento Bee at servicejournalists@sacbee.com. The Bee publishes weekly updates on health inspections across Sacramento County.

Sacramento falafel restaurant closed by health inspectors

Falafel Corner, 3620 North Freeway Blvd., Suite 305, in Sacramento, had eight violations on Wednesday, Feb. 19.

Sacramento County inspectors shut down the Mediterranean restaurant after discovering there was no hot water in the facility.

Water at a three-compartment sink measured more than 20 degrees colder than is required for warewashing.

A rice cooker and tables in the kitchen had food debris.

Employee food handler cards were not available to review.

There were no buckets available to hold wiping towels, and the towels were dirty with food debris.

Falafel Corner was reinspected and issued a green placard on Thursday, Feb. 20.

A representative for the restaurant had not responded to a Sacramento Bee reporter’s request for comment as of Thursday afternoon.

The Cheesecake Factory, Fire Wings cited for food safety violations

Buckhorn BBQ & Grill, 4720 Freeport Blvd., Suite 160, in Sacramento, had four violations on Thursday, Feb. 13.

The barbecue restaurant was issued a yellow placard for keeping food at unsafe temperatures and other issues.

There was “black mold-like growth” on a panel and a wall inside an ice machine, according to a Feb. 13 report.

Staffers threw away more than half a pound of cooked pork after the meat measured at temperatures outside the accepted range.

Grilled vegetables were also at unsafe temperatures, the report said.

Around 26 pounds of tri-tip were discarded because there was no label indicating when the meat had been taken out of temperature control.

Seven employees had expired food handler cards.

Buckhorn BBQ & Grill was reinspected and given a green placard on Friday, Feb. 14.

Seafood City, 6051 Mack Road in Sacramento, had 14 violations on Thursday, Feb. 13.

The Filipino supermarket was cited by inspectors for having cross-contamination between raw and cooked meat, and for keeping food at unsafe temperatures.

Health officials observed employees storing two sets of tongs — one handling raw chicken and the other handling cooked chicken — in the same container of stagnant water.

A condenser unit leaked on the outside of food containers and packages of shrimp balls, banana leaves and other foods.

Employees kept prepackaged steamed rice cakes with cheese outside of temperature control, resulting in the food measuring too warm to be considered safe.

A box of shrimp chips was stored on the floor of a storage room.

The supermarket’s health permit was not valid at the time of the inspection.

Seafood City passed a reinspection on Friday, Feb. 14.

International Food Creations, 8870 Madison Ave. in Fair Oaks, had two violations on Friday, Feb. 14.

The Asian food supplier was given a yellow placard after violating regulations for food temperatures and time control regulations.

Cooked chicken was at a temperature outside of the safe range.

Fried chicken, egg rolls, noodles and other entrees were held in a steam table without a log of how long they had been there.

International Food Creations was reinspected and given a green placard on Tuesday, Feb. 18.

Paris Baguette, 1229 Howe Ave. in Sacramento, had 11 violations on Friday, Feb. 14.

The bakery was cited by health officials for having food outside of safe temperature ranges, and removing a sink without approval.

Several cakes in a broken refrigerator measured too warm to be considered safe.

The restaurant took out a hand sink from a cook line without proposing a change to the facility’s plan. This violation had not been fixed from a previous inspection.

A cake display cooler did not have a plastic cover to protect from food contamination.

A total of 12 items considered “potentially hazardous foods” were discarded due to missing logs indicating how long they had been out of temperature control.

Paris Baguette passed a reinspection on Tuesday, Feb. 18.

TM Meats, 6181 Mack Road in Sacramento, had 12 violations on Friday, Feb. 14.

The restaurant and market was issued a yellow placard after inspectors found mold in a cooler and contaminated food.

Employees discarded sausages in a display cooler that had been contaminated with leaking condensate.

Shelves inside a walk-in cooler had mold and rust.

Food boxes were stored on the floor of the walk-in cooler. This was a repeat violation.

Health officials were not able to inspect shelves in the back of the restaurant because a desk was “overfilled” with employees’ personal items, the Feb. 14 report said.

TM Meats was reinspected and issued a green placard on Thursday, Feb. 19.

Quan Nem Ninh Hoa, 8469 Elk Grove Blvd., Suite 7, in Elk Grove, had 17 violations on Tuesday, Feb. 18.

The Vietnamese restaurant was cited for employees handling raw meat improperly and keeping food at dangerous temperatures.

Inspectors observed an employee grabbing raw meat in a with a gloved hand and then grabbing a walk-in cooler door handle with the same glove.

Grilled pork, sauce, fish cakes and sliced tomato measured outside of safe temperature ranges. Beef was being cooled outside of temperature control on the cook’s line.

Sacks of flour and onions were stored directly on the floor near a storage room.

A meat slicer was found “unclean to sight and touch” despite having not been used since the day prior, the Feb. 18 report said.

Quan Nem Ninh Hoa had not been reinspected as of Thursday afternoon.

Hanoi Pho, 9341 Big Horn Blvd., Suite 105, in Elk Grove, had 15 violations on Tuesday, Feb. 18.

The pho restaurant was issued a yellow placard after inspectors found rodent droppings and dead cockroaches.

Health officials spotted a total of 22 rodent droppings around the facility, including on the floor of a storage area and the floor between a wall and bulk ice machine.

Two dead Turkestan cockroaches were also on a glue trap on the floor between a wall and a bulk ice machine.

The bulk ice machine had black mold-like residue on an ice-making part.

Employees discarded 4.5 gallons of cooked rice that had not been cooled properly.

Raw eggs and chicken were stored over cooked and ready-to-eat foods.

Hanoi Pho had not been reinspected as of Thursday afternoon.

Fire Wings, 1229 Howe Ave., Suite B, in Sacramento, had 15 violations on Tuesday, Feb. 18.

The chicken wing chain’s Howe Avenue location received a yellow placard for keeping food at unsafe temperatures and not protecting food from contamination.

A container of cooked chicken was inside a cooler without a lid.

The ice chute in a self-serve soda machine had “organic build-up,” according to a Feb. 18 report.

Five bottles of garlic and butter sauce, as well as chicken tenders and boneless chicken, were outside of the required temperature range.

Employees discarded containers of macaroni and cheese; chili and nacho cheese because they did not have a proper log indicating how long the foods had been left out of temperature control.

Boxes of raw chicken were stored directly on the floor of a walk-in cooler. This was a second repeat violation.

Employees’ personal items, including a drink, a jacket, a phone and a backpack, were being stored on a shelf with food and food equipment. This was a second repeat violation.

The Fire Wings location failed a reinspection on Feb. 19 and had not been reinspected as of Thursday afternoon.

Co Do Deli, 6665 Stockton Blvd., Suite 10, in Sacramento, had 16 violations on Tuesday, Feb. 18.

The Vietnamese spot was issued a yellow placard due to mold-like residue on a food contact surface and various violations of cleaning regulations.

An ice machine had a “slime/mold-like substance” on plastic components, according to a Feb. 18 report.

Cooked rice noodles were contaminated after an employee handled them with their bare hands after touching unclean items.

Noodles that were stored under time control were not discarded after the required four hours.

Employees were observed washing a pot using only water and a sponge, which left behind noodle residue. The pot was then used to cook more noodles without having been washed or sanitized properly.

Basil was stored on raw meat in a freezer.

Bean sprouts and sliced meats measured at unsafe temperatures.

Co Do Deli passed a reinspection on Wednesday, Feb. 19.

SF Supermarket, 2738 Sunrise Blvd. in Rancho Cordova, had eight violations on Wednesday, Feb. 19.

The Asian supermarket chain was cited by inspectors for keeping seafood outside of safe temperature ranges and not properly sanitizing food contact stations.

A seafood preparation station did not have sanitation buckets or solutions for properly cleaning and sanitizing the station.

Fish were stored in a basket on the seafood department’s floor.

A variety of fish were improperly stored in a display case on ice, and measured too warm to be safe.

The restaurant’s operator discarded eight bags of clams and half of a case of oysters after they were unable to find the proper shellstock certification tags.

A handwashing sink was blocked by a grocery cart in front and bowls and utensils in the basin.

The supermarket failed a reinspection Thursday afternoon.

The Cheesecake Factory, 1771 Arden Way in Sacramento, had 15 violations on Wednesday, Feb. 19.

The chain restaurant was given a yellow placard after inspectors discovered food stored improperly and held outside of safe temperatures.

A total of 15 different “potentially hazardous food” items, including mashed potatoes, butter, cream and cheese, were at temperatures considered unsafe.

Raw chicken was stored near raw beef and raw seafood.

Inspectors found other raw proteins alongside cooked meats and over fries. This was a second repeat violation.

Seven cans of tomatoes had large dents, some in the mid-seam of the cans.

Utensils and other kitchenware were stored in a cabinet with the facility’s breaker box.

Several refrigeration units did not have thermometers.

An employee’s Chick-Fil-A drink cup was stored in a freezer over fries meant for customers.

The Cheesecake Factory location passed a reinspection Thursday afternoon.

Camila Pedrosa

The Sacramento Bee

Camila Pedrosa is the California Diversions Reporter at The Sacramento Bee. She previously worked on The Bee’s service journalism team and was a summer reporting intern for The Bee in 2024. She graduated from Arizona State University with a master’s degree in mass communication.