A Richmond Burger King which allegedly sold two mouldy sandwiches to the public last week has a history of failing health inspections since 2017, according to food inspection reports.
Roxanna Hou, who works near the Burger King on Sea Island Way, bought two sandwiches on May 1 and said it was “very disgusting” to discover mould on her food.
“At first, I smelled something strange, but I ate half of it already. And then I looked under the bread it was filled with mould,” said Hou, adding that her manager’s sandwich also had mould that was “drastically worse.”
“For a fast-food chain store, this is very unacceptable for serving this kind of food to customers. People can definitely get sick from this.”
Hou told the Richmond News that calls were made to the store, but they were unanswered, and a report was made to Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH)’s restaurant and food safety department.
The fast-food chain store has since been listed on the health authority’s restaurant closure list due to unsanitary conditions, according to VCH’s website.
Health and safety inspection reports by VCH show the restaurant currently has seven outstanding critical infractions and four non-critical infractions.
Critical infractions are considered where a part of a business can contribute to illness or injury, or affect the safety and cleanliness of an area where food is handled, reads the VCH website.
The Burger King location was found in non-compliance when it came to maintaining a clean area where food handling would take place including the equipment, utensils and food contact surfaces, during a routine inspection on Oct. 6, 2021.
In the same report, hand-washing stations were reported to not be supplied, maintained, blocked or were being used for other purposes.
VCH returned for a follow-up inspection on Oct. 22, 2021 and the report once again stated the store was still not up to sanitary standards when it came to the food handling area.
Their hand-washing stations were approved by VCH in that inspection.
Meanwhile, the Burger King location, like many others, had requested a COVID-19 inspection from VCH in March of last year.
The inspection report showed the store’s COVID-19 plan was created and in use, however, there were several aspects of the plan that failed, including stating the maximum number of patrons in the store, the number of people, including staff, allowed on site and physical distancing rules between groups.
Between 2017 and 2019, the store had two scheduled routine inspections and five follow-ups with most reports stating unsanitary conditions not met in food-handling areas.
In a separate incident, a fire occurred inside the restaurant, which caused the store to be closed off as of May 1, 2022.
“The damage to the premises was extensive and made it unsafe for the Environmental Health Officer to enter and investigate,” said Jeremy Deutsch, media spokesperson for VCH.
“An inspection will be conducted before the premises can reopen.”
Deutsch told the Richmond News that inspections are done regularly and when complaints are received.
“Each visit generates an inspection report that is provided to the operator to either confirm they are compliant with regulations or lists deficiencies that need to be addressed.”
Burger King Canada did not respond to the Richmond News prior to publication.
