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Dirty Dining finds expired hot dogs at 7-Eleven and problems at food trucks

Posted at 10:45 PM, Jul 19, 2017
and last updated 2017-07-20 13:58:12-04

Have you ever wondered how fresh those 7-Eleven hot dogs are? 

The Health District has an answer you may not like at the 7-Eleven on Eastern and Flamingo. 

They found a large box of expired quarter-pound hot dogs, open and in use, that should have been thrown out five days before the inspection date. There were also multiple containers of black bean dip and chips on display that were two and a half weeks expired. 

And that's just part of how that franchise location racked up 32 demerits and a C grade.

Breanne, the person in charge, says most of the problems stemmed from a broken deli display case.

"I think the refrigeration was just because it was an old system and everything had to be replaced and we weren't aware of it. The cooler temperature was showing that it was in the right temperature but when you actually checked it, it wasn't."

Potentially hazardous foods have to be kept below 41 or above 135 degrees. 

Inspectors found multiple packages of egg salad, tuna fish, chicken salad, cut melons, raw eggs, yogurt and burritos in the temperature danger zone. 

Since then, 7-Eleven has replaced the unit with a new one.

Breanne put us on the phone with the store owner, who says the expired food was just an oversight.

He admits the mistake and says they threw it all out.

While in the store, we noticed another violation that the health inspector wrote up--uncovered coffee filters sitting out on top of a self-serve machine, left subject to contamination.

We told the owner and he said he'd have employees fix it right away. 

Inspectors also found bag-in-box soda hoses left hanging near the dirty floor and heavy debris build-up throughout the front drink service area. 

The floor and baseboards were in severe disrepair, and wastewater from the back three-compartment hand sink flowed and spilled out from unattached plumbing into the entire back ware wash area.

The two imminent health hazard closures continue to prove how tough it is for food trucks to keep things cool in the summer heat.

A-1 Mobile Catering truck #7 was taken off the road at Southern Highlands construction site due to inadequate refrigeration. 

Food at unsafe temperatures included deli turkey and ham, American cheese, raw chicken and raw eggs. They were also storing cooked chicken on the drainboard of the sink they were using to wash dishes.

Dragon Grille's food truck was inspected at Tivoli Village, where it was shut down for lack of adequate refrigeration.Stuff that should've been frozen solid was thawing, even though it was in the freezer. 

Lobster sushi rolls were at unsafe temperatures. So was pre-cooked lobster meat. And the inspector saw a fly land on food.

Dragon Grille's El Shuko Mobile and A-1 Mobile Catering are both back to a zero-demerit A grades. 7-Eleven now has a three-demerit A.