Shooter gets up to 27 years

SNAPSHOT FROM A CENTURY

<b>First Posted:</b> 6/30/2007<br><br>MICHAEL DUNCAN 



EDWARDSVILLE &amp;ndash; Happy Buffet, a Chinese restaurant in the Gateway Shopping Center, has been issued two citations following numerous violations of the Pennsylvania Food Code. The violations were discovered during three inspections in the last month. 
Food Safety Supervisor John Rupert, who conducted each inspection, filed the citations for conditions that the state Department of Agriculture calls an &amp;ldquo;inability to store food at a proper temperature and persons not conducting their duties.&amp;rdquo; 
The citations, which carry penalties that total $222, were filed with District Judge Paul J. Roberts of Kingston. Happy Buffet has 10 days to enter a plea. A hearing will be scheduled only if the restaurant disputes the accusations.
Happy Buffet proprietors claim the inspections are not a reflection of their business practices and that these past infractions will be fixed.
&amp;ldquo;We have only been here for two months,&amp;rdquo; manager Rachel Fu said. &amp;ldquo;We&amp;rsquo;ve been trying to improve the restaurant from the previous owner.&amp;rdquo;
Zhao Guo Wang, the new owner, urges people to see that the restaurant is trying to make improvements. She said she is sorry about the result of the inspections.
There will be a follow-up inspection, Rupert said.
After the second inspection, Rupert&amp;rsquo;s office sent a warning letter notifying the restaurant of potential legal action, but the problems continued in the third inspection, he said.
Rupert reported 18 violations at Happy Buffet&amp;rsquo;s opening inspection on May 19, ranging from inadequate knowledge of the state Food Code, to insufficient refrigeration facilities and improper food storage. 
These violations increase the risk of food-borne illnesses, pathogens, chemicals and physical objects in foods served. According to the inspection reports, Rupert instructed Happy Buffet to solve these sanitation problems within a week. 
On two subsequent inspections &amp;ndash; on May 31 and June 19 &amp;ndash; Rupert found 12 more violations. The inspections revealed that the restaurant was still using inadequate cooling facilities, chilling beef at 54 degrees and chicken at 60 degrees. State law requires the temperature to be 41 degrees or lower.
Happy Buffet did not have a state-certified supervisory employee and has repeatedly stored food less than 6 inches from the ground, both violations of state law.
Wang has a food-service certification in Illinois but has not had a chance to take the test in Pennsylvania. Fu has a state certification in Missouri.
&amp;ldquo;It&amp;rsquo;s not about the money,&amp;rdquo; Fu said. &amp;ldquo;Every time the inspector came and said the food wasn&amp;rsquo;t stored cold enough, we threw it out and bought new food.&amp;rdquo;
The refrigerator, which Fu checks every morning, is directly opposite the woks that are used for cooking. Opening the refrigerator exposes cold food to some of the hot air around the woks.
&amp;ldquo;I&amp;rsquo;ve told all my chefs to be careful when opening the fridge for this reason,&amp;rdquo; Fu said. &amp;ldquo;We keep our food fresh and we take these problems seriously.&amp;rdquo;
For information

Restaurant inspection reports can be found on the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Web site,  www.agriculture.state.pa.us/pafoodsafety.

Happy Buffet facing citations after food-code violations