The following are among the food service establishments inspected in December by the Liberty County Health Department. The department scores on a 100-percentile scale. Kitchens are inspected at least every four months and are required to post their score sheets in public. The score and selected comments from health inspectors are included in each report. To view all restaurant scores, go to dph.georgia.gov/environmental-health-inspections.

Dec. 9
• Taco Tortilla, 549 W. Oglethorpe Hwy., Hinesville. Score: 100. Grade: A.
Remarks: None.

Dec. 14
• Izola’s Country Cafe, 809 Willowbrook Dr., Ste. 106, Hinesville. Score: 78. Grade: C.
Remarks: (1)   Observed employee drinking from an open beverage container in a food preparation or other restricted area. Corrected on site by manager discarding cups.  New violation. (2) Cooked potentially hazardous food not cooled from 135 degrees to 41 degrees within 6 hours and cooked potentially hazardous food not cooled from 135 degrees to 70 degrees within
2 hours. Corrected on site by discarding food.  Repeat violation. (3) Observed food items (soups) stored in the reach-in cooler not properly date marked. The manager/employees did not know when the soup was prepared. Repeat from previous inspection. If food is not properly date marked during next inspection, the food will be discarded. (4) Observed black and gray bus pans stored under leaking air-conditioning unit and exposed to possible contamination. Corrected on site by moving bus pans. New violation. (5) Observed seal or gasket in disrepair on front warmer behind the serving line. (6) Observed dented cans in the storage area. Need to discard or give the dented cans back to suppliers. (7) Observed food buildup on food contact surfaces. Need to clean today. (8) Need to repair/fix self-closing fixture on back door. (9) Observed facility using chlorine test strips with quat sanitizer. Need to use chlorine sanitizer or obtain quat test strips. (10) Observed water-damaged ceiling tiles in men’s bathroom. (11) The chicken gizzards on the hot serving line below 135 degrees. Corrected on site by discarding. (12) The mac and cheese below 135 degrees was cooked today. An employee had the food sitting on the counter in which the temperature decreased. The manager placed the food back into the warmer/oven to increase the temperature. (13) Will follow up on cooling and date marking.

Dec. 15
• Burger King, 815 E.G. Miles Pkwy., Hinesville. Score: 92. Grade: A.
Remarks: (1)   Observed grease build up on flat pans stored in the storage area with clean containers/equipment. Corrected on site by cleaning and sanitizing flat pans. New violation.(2) Observed live flies in kitchen by the mop sink. Repeat from previous inspection. Observed drive-thru window propped open. Corrected on site by manager closing the window. Repeat violation. (3) Observed broken floor tiles in the floor mop sink. Need to repair floor tiles. (4) Make sure all coolers have internal thermometers. Manager replaced thermometer in the reach-in cooler under prep station.

• Mr. Pizza, 9754 E. Oglethorpe Hwy., Midway. Score: 99. Grade: A.
Remarks: (1) Observed water pooling at the bottom of the pizza-making line.  New violation. (2) Observed cooking thermometer for facility. Facility needs to get cold-holding or digital probe thermometer to check cold-holding and/or cooling. (3) Talked to manager about cooling. (4) Talked to manager about date marking.

• Top’s China, 229 W. General Screven Way, Unit D, Hinesville. Score: 93. Grade: A.
Remarks: (1) Observed food stored uncovered in the walk-in freezer. I also talked to the owner about where he stores his spices by the wok at night, and he stated that he stored them out at night. I told him about how to properly store the spices at night.  New violation. (2) Observed no sanitizer in the wiping cloth solution. I told the owner to put only bleach in wiping cloth solutions. New violation. (3) Observed grease build-up on equipment (griddle over fryers and other equipment, vent hood filters, etc.)  New violation. (4) Observed grease leaking from vent hood onto the floor. Need to check hood to make sure it is working properly. Repeat from previous inspection. (5) The chicken in the reach-in cooler above 41 degrees was discarded. Owner stated they cooked the chicken yesterday and cooled it in the cooler instead of walk-in cooler. Need to cool food in the walk-in cooler.

• Yummy House, 150C Butler St., Midway. Score: 92. Grade: A.
Remarks: (1) Observed employee eating in the kitchen. Need to have employees or personnel in the dining room.  New violation. (2) Did not observe probe thermometer in facility to measure cook, cooling, cold-holding or hot holding food.  New violation. (3) Facility needs designated area to store personal food in the walk-in cooler. Personal food needs to be stored away from customers’ food in a labeled area.  New violation. (4) Make sure all food is labeled with the date food was prepared. Food needs to be date marked 24 hours after preparation. Owner stated food was prepared yesterday around 7 p.m. (5) Need to cover cheese won tons in the walk-in freezer.

Dec. 16
• Country Oak BBQ #2, 10880 S. Coastal Hwy., Riceboro. Score: 89. Grade: B.
Remarks: (1) No certified food manager for establishment. New violation.. (2) Water samples not submitted as required. Repeat from previous inspection  Repeat violation. (3) Hot water not provided/shut off at employee hand-wash sink. New violation. (4) Observed popcorn ceiling inside the kitchen area of the establishment. New violation. (5) Facility not open at the time of inspection, and there was no food at the establishment. The owner stated that he might sell the facility and he has not used the facility in months.