Highlights
- Duluth City in Metro Atlanta has a restaurant that failed the health inspection on January 27.
- The restaurant that failed the inspection had several instances of violation of food safety practices.
- Inspectors also noted instances of 2 repeat violations at the restaurant.
One restaurant in Duluth City, part of Gwinnett County, failed the routine health inspection on Monday, January 27. Sweet Octopus only scored 63 points in the health inspection, resulting in it being given the U grade. Health officials who inspected the establishment observed several risk factors for foodborne illnesses and the need for public health interventions, which they have explained in the report. The inspectors also observed non-compliance with certain good retail practices.
Sweet Octopus Graded U in Latest Health Inspection
Sweet Octopus in Duluth has failed to meet the health standards and will now have to rectify the violations to retain its permit. It is located at 3559 W Lawrenceville St, Suite 600 in Duluth, and serves Thai, Poke, Ramen, Empanada, and Boba menus. They also have a bar menu with Sake, beer, wine, and other beverages. The restaurant had scored a ‘B’ grade in the last inspection conducted in June 2023 and an ‘A’ grade in March 2023.
In the official report, the Person in Charge (PIC) at Sweet Octopus is stated to be not practicing active managerial control, leading to several risk violations. It is the responsibility of the PIC to ensure that the restaurant complies with the food code.
As a second consecutive violation, the report noted that there was a lack of proper eating, tasting, and drinking practices by the employees. An opened employee water bottle was seen above the food in the sushi area. Stanley cup was seen to be stored on the kegerator. Plates with employee’s food were observed to be kept behind the counter, above single service items.
Yet another repeat violation was noted in the case of the Sushi rice using time as public health control (TPHC) that was missing time indicators. As another issue relating to adding dates to the food, Empanadas in the freezer and the prep cooler were seen without dates made over 24 hours in the facility. The chicken was also seen to have only date prepared, no date when it was thawed from the freezer or date when to discard.
Inspectors also saw reduced oxygen-packaged raw beef from multiple weeks ago, along with fresh beef from the same day in the freezer. Two commercially reduced oxygen-packaged fish thawing in a cooler was not removed from packaging as per packaging instructions.
Most of the issues mentioned above were resolved on-site, during the inspection. The issue regarding the PIC’s lack of managerial control was not resolved and will have to be solved by February 6, 2025.
In regards to the consecutive violations, the report said that because they have been observed 2 times, a 3rd consecutive observation may lead to permit suspension.
As the restaurant has been given an unsatisfactory score, the inspectors will now conduct a follow-up inspection, which will occur in the next 10 days, by February 6. There will also be an additional required additional reinspection that will occur within the next 12 months. If Sweet Octopus fails these inspections, it may face suspension of its permit. The full report is available to the public on the official website.
The Gwinnett, Newton & Rockdale County Health Departments inspected a total of 14 restaurants on January 27. Among them, 8 restaurants were awarded an A grade, with 5 of them scoring a perfect 100. Grade B was given to 2 restaurants and the Grade C was given to 3 restaurants. As per the reports, most restaurants are complying with the health guidelines, while a few fail to do so.
