Restaurant Scorecard: Expired noodles, black mold in ice bin among violations as 5 Jefferson County restaurants fall below satisfactory compliance standards

Key Points:

• Five food establishments in Jefferson County, Alabama, failed to meet satisfactory health compliance standards during inspections from July 14-16, with China Kitchen in Warrior scoring the lowest at 76 due to improper food temperature control and storage issues.
• The Local in Vestavia Hills scored 82 on a follow-up inspection but remains below the satisfactory threshold of 85 due to temperature control problems and handwashing sink issues; it will be reinspected within 60 days.
• T-Mobile Call Center / Food Express in Birmingham scored 82, with notable violations including black mold in an ice bin and insufficient handwashing water temperature.
• Cracker Barrel in Gardendale improved from a failing score of 64 to 90 after reinspection, now considered in satisfactory compliance after correcting priority violations like improper hot-holding temperatures.
• Multiple other establishments, including Sneaky Pete’s Hot Dogs and China Kitchen, improved their scores to satisfactory levels following reinspections, while numerous businesses achieved perfect or near-perfect scores in recent inspections across Jefferson County.