State agriculture officials shut down a Hempfield restaurant, citing a number of food safety violations.
But the owner of the Super Panda Chinese Buffet on Route 30 predicted she would reopen on Wednesday.
State officials were not available to confirm late Tuesday whether the restaurant had been cleared to open for business.
A state Department of Agriculture inspector found multiple public health violations at Super Panda and ordered on Thursday that the restaurant be closed, according to William R. Nichols, a press aide for the department.
A department notice that was posted at the Route 30 establishment said it was “temporarily closed.”
When asked if the violations had been addressed, owner Xiu Wen Jiang said on Tuesday afternoon that she hoped to reopen after doing “some remodeling.”
The Greensburg woman is listed as the owner in documents filed with the state Corporation Bureau for the restaurant, where she was briefly interviewed. The notice had been removed from the door.
According to the closure order, the “facility has been ordered to remain closed until the facility has been re-inspected by and deemed safe to reopen by the department.”
The business apparently has changed hands within the last few months, as the agriculture department noted in a report that an opening inspection was conducted Jan. 29. The restaurant failed that inspection, according to department records.
During a follow-up inspection that resulted in the closure on Thursday, records show, additional violations were identified, including:
• A person in charge did not have adequate knowledge of food safety.
• Signs did not exist to remind employees to wash their hands.
• ”Black filth” and “pink slime” were observed inside an ice machine bin.
• Knives were not properly cleaned between cutting different types of raw meat.
• Raw meat was being stored at improper temperatures.
Renatta Signorini is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 724-837-5374 or rsignorini@tribweb.com.
