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Gwinnett Restaurant Scores '13' On Health Inspection

Wednesday, March 5, 2008 – updated: 6:57 am EST March 6, 2008

A Gwinnett County restaurant has received the lowest health inspection score ever given in that county -- a 13 out of 100.

Officials shut down the Mar Y Tierra Family Mexican Restaurant at 521 Indian Trail Road in Lilburn after finding numerous violations. The restaurant was not in compliance when it came to sewage and waste water being properly disposed, adequate hand-washing facilities being supplied and accessible or personal cleanliness according to the report.

Health inspectors said they found a bin of raw chicken stored over vegetables that were going to be served without cooking and black mold lining the inside of a cooler.

"The most important ones are the temperature violations, food handling, food storage," Vernon Goins with the Gwinnett County Health Department told Channel 2's Rachel Kim.

The restaurant is closed and its license has been suspended. The manager told Channel 2 the restaurant's food is clean. He said they wre having small problems with their freezer leaking and refrigerator not working.

The manager also said he believes they got a low score because they weren't aware of the state's new foodservice code.

"The breakdown sometimes comes between getting the information to the operators and then getting them to pass that down to the people who actually prepare the food and this appears to be one of those cases," said Goins.

Many of the violations noted on the report were also penalized under the previous health code because they are considered risk factors for foodbourne illness, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The previous low score in Gwinnett County was a 17.

On the same day Mar Y Tierra restaurant received a failing grade, Tim’s Rib Joint at 465 Dacula Road and Fuddruckers at 1915 Scenic Highway also failed.

Under the new regulations, the health department said 85-90 percent of restaurants get passing scores. Anything below 70 is considered unacceptable.

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