Inspectors give convenience store passing score, though two problems corrected

A convenience store on Windfern Road recently passed a regular county food safety inspection, but a few problems needed to be addressed.

The inspection of First Stop Food Store, located at 7202 Windfern Road, took place on March 1. Harris County inspectors gave the store eight demerits out of a possible 100. An establishment must earn 20 demerits to be considered "of concern" and in need of a follow-up visit.

County officials corrected two violations in the store. The first was a "cold hold" violation, which usually means that food that needed to stay cool was held over 41 degrees Fahrenheit for more than four hours. This is one of the violations that the county website states is commonly associated with food-borne illness by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Inspectors also wrote that they corrected a problem with hand-washing facilities on-site.

The eight demerits do not represent an unusual score for First Stop. It was given a score of seven following inspections in November 2010 and June 2010.

For more information on how Harris County conducts food safety inspections, visit www.hcphes.org.