MAP: Inspectors Flag Roach Motels Among Queens Grocers

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Many Queens grocery stores and bodegas are plagued with rats, mice, roaches and grime, and might even pose a health risk, state data show.

Patch has pulled together information on grocery store inspections across New York state to create our exclusive interactive map, culled from public data supplied by the state's Department of Agriculture and Markets. Unlike restaurants, whose inspection grades from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene are famously hung in establishment windows, this data is only available if you request it from the state.

In order to keep locals informed, we collected data on more than 200 markets in our Queens footprint, which included chain supermarkets, grocery stores, bodegas, butchers, fishmongers, pharmacies and convenience stores in Bayside, Douglaston, Little Neck and Forest Hills. If you're interested in seeing the public data on a grocery elsewhere in the state, you can search the map.

In the data you’ll find a host of gnarly violations, thinks like old meat buildup in grinders, rodent feces and lots of bugs found by inpectors in these local businesses. However, a bad inspection doesn’t necessarily mean you should write off your go-to bodega. Inspections very rarely turn up nothing, especially in New York City, where insect and rodent issues are far more common than in the suburbs.

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Results in the map are from store's latest food safety inspection as of Jan. 30, and violations are either listed as "general deficiencies," which inspectors say did not present a health risk, and "critical deficiencies" that pose a real hazard to customers. One critical violation and the market fails inspection.

How Queens Scored

In Bayside-Douglaston, we found nine markets that failed their most recent inspection and 26 that failed at least one inspection in 2012 out of the 124 markets we analyzed for this project. One of the worst offenders, Bagel Superette and Grocery, was flagged for 7 critical violations involving things like beetles and mouse feces. In fact, inspectors destroyed 14 pounds of putrid cold cuts deemed unfit for sale.

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On the other hand, only four of the 90 markets we analyzed in Forest Hills failed thie most recent inspections, and 12 failed at least once in 2012. Common issues included rodent feces and dirty equipment, but in general the neighborhood had far fewer critical issues than other areas in the borough.

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According to the state, there were 110 inspectors on the state’s payroll in 2012 responsible for about 31,000 retail food stores and around 6,200 food warehouses, wineries and other processors. Delis are included in the department’s inspections if 50 percent or less of their business is selling ready-to-eat food.

"They are our eyes and ears behind the scenes," said Robert Gravani, a professor at Cornell University who trains state inspectors.

Inspectors show up unannounced, and can spend as little as hour or more than a day inspecting a store, said Stephen Stich, Director of Food Safety and Inspection at the department.

The Inspection System

In 29 percent of the 30,372 retail food store inspections conducted statewide in 2012, the inspector found one or more problems that could make customers sick, Patch’s analysis of public records shows.

If an inspector finds a serious hazard to food safety, the store fails the inspection. Our analysis found more than 5,300 stores across the state failed an inspection last year, and more than 1,100 stores failed more than once. The department can fine the store up to $600 for the first critical deficiency, and double that amount for any more critical problems.

The department does more than just hand out fines. Sometimes, inspectors supervise supermarket employees as they correct violations on the spot, such as sanitizing dirty deli slicers, Stich said. Inspectors also hold in-store trainings to educate employees on the importance of food safety.

"These companies want to do things right," Gravani said. "Sometimes they fall down. That’s why you have a regulatory system."

Shoppers should call state inspectors with complaints about their local supermarket, such as spoiled food, Stich said.

You can reach the NYC regional office, located in Brooklyn, at 718-722-2876.

But if you think food from the supermarket made you sick, contact your local health department, Stich said.

You can report a foodborne illness in New York City by calling 311.

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