CAPE RESTAURANT CLOSED BECAUSE OF ALLEGED HEALTH PROBLEMS

The Great Wall Chinese Super Buffet remained closed today after being shut down Tuesday by the Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center for violations of state regulations.

A routine field visit, followed by a thorough inspection, yielded 18 critical and 40 non-critical violations Tuesday and Wednesday at the restaurant at 3254 William. Diane Gregory, environmental public health specialist who assisted inspector Mike Rockett with the second inspection, confirmed the business was temporarily closed but declined further comment.

Health department employees were unsure when the business will reopen, stating it depends upon when the violations are corrected and it is reinspected. The owner of the restaurant was not available at the restaurant Wednesday afternoon to comment.

Most of the violations were graded non-critical, meaning they related to cleanliness and procedural problems. These violations included storing food, utensils and wiping cloths improperly; dirty walls, floors and shelves in the cooking area; and improper placement of some implements, including a meat slicer and can opener.

Other violations were more critical because of their potential to transmit disease. Critical violations pose immediate health hazards and must be corrected within a three-day period.

Most of the critical violations related to improper handling and storage of food and hand-washing violations by employees. Many of the violations -- critical and non-critical -- had been corrected by Wednesday afternoon.

Some of the critical violations recorded included raw chicken stored over cooked food; dented cans on storage shelves; crab legs stored in ground-meat container; aprons used to wipe hands after handling raw meats and poultry; no hand sink in buffet area; employees seen breaking plastic wrap with their chin or against their shirt; and unwrapped meat stored over seafood.