Live roaches and roach nests in the kitchen prompted the Allegheny County Health Department to issue a consumer alert for a Whitehall restaurant this week, inspection reports show.
The Namaste India II Restaurant on Radford Road was not shut down, though the department issued it a yellow consumer alert placard.
According to the safety report, inspectors found empty and full spice containers with dead roaches and egg sacs inside. They noted an “active infestation of German roaches,” with a nest found in the dough sheeter used to make samosa and another under an unused grease trap.
The inspector wrote that live roaches were found inside the three-compartment sink, inside the drain boards, near the food-prep cooler and in the ice machine room and front dining room.
A check of the dish machine with a chlorine test strip showed it was not sanitizing, inspectors noted. Prepared foods were not labeled with the date they were made, the kitchen had no probe thermometers, there were various holes and leaks throughout the facility.
The restaurant was not ordered to close, though it was issued a consumer alert placard. A date for reinspection has not been set, according to the report. Owners could not immediately be reached.
Also this week, the health department shut down a mobile food truck in Braddock Hills called Neighborhood Hero #1.
According to the inspection report, the hot food holding temperatures were too low and the cold food holding temperatures were too high – and the refrigerator was unplugged and there was no hot water or sanitizer. The inspector also noted issues with the truck’s water and power supplies.
Two other mobile food trucks have been shut down this month for operating without a food permit: City Oven and the Frymaster Mobile Food Truck.
