A Pei Wei Asian Diner in Mission Valley was ordered to close this week after food inspectors found an active cockroach infestation in the restaurant’s food preparation area.
Food inspectors with the county Department of Environmental Health (DEH) inspected the restaurant at 1025 Camino De La Reina last Friday and found several live and dead cockroaches in the kitchen. Inspectors also discovered that some employees weren’t properly certified to handle food.
According to the January 25 food inspection report, live cockroaches were found under the food prep island and on the countertops where rice cookers and to-go containers are stored.
The inspector also found dead cockroaches below the dishwashing machine, and near a dry storage area. The restaurant possessed pest control invoices from the same days as the inspection, according to the report.
In addition to vermin, the inspector found potentially hazardous foods stored at temperatures out of compliance and found standing water in the kitchen.
The restaurant was immediately closed and its A Rating card was taken away.
Inspectors revisited the restaurant on Saturday and Sunday, and both times they found live cockroaches near the food preparation line and near a point-of-sale system.
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By Monday, the restaurant was clean and no cockroaches or other vermin were found. The restaurant received four out of four possible points in the vermin section of the inspection report card and was allowed to reopen.
“Cleanliness and food safety are our top priority. We fell short of our strict quality standards at our Mission Valley location and we took immediate corrective action to fix those issues. We have instituted additional safeguards and procedures at all of our restaurants to ensure that we maintain our high standards every day,” a statement from Pew Wei read.
