Health and safety violations included failing to protect food from contamination and poor personal hygiene.
A Richmond-based food processing company was recently closed due to unsanitary conditions found following a routine inspection.
Vancouver Northern Food Inc., located at 3571 Viking Way, Unit 4, received a closure order on June 19 from Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH).
According to VCH's inspection report, eight major violations and two non-major violations were found during the routine inspection.
For example, Vancouver Northern Food did not maintain its facilities in proper repair or sanitary condition, and its manual dishwashing procedures were inadequate to remove contaminants.
Food was not protected from contamination and came into contact with unsanitized surfaces and utensils. Potentially hazardous food was also not stored at safe temperatures, according to the report.
Staff hygiene was also an issue, with the report saying employees were not washing their hands “as frequently as required” and “did not demonstrate good personal hygiene.” There were insufficient hand-washing stations.
The business did not have a food safety and sanitation plan in place, and rodent activity was confirmed on the premises.
During a routine inspection in March 2023, health inspectors found similar issues with Vancouver Northern Foods' premises, food handling practices and hand-washing procedures.
In a follow-up inspection that same month, inspectors ultimately found employees to have good personal hygiene.
Vancouver Northern Foods remains closed as of June 21.
The VCH said closure orders would only be issued if the immediate health hazard “cannot be addressed during the inspection or brought into compliance immediately.” Businesses would be able to reopen if they passed additional inspections.
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