The Issue Whether Respondent committed the violations alleged in the Administrative Complaint, and, if so, what disciplinary action should be taken against it.
Findings Of Fact Based upon the evidence adduced at the final hearing and the record as a whole, the following findings of fact are made: At all times material to the instant case, Respondent operated a public food service establishment, Cups & Cones Yogurt, located in Lake Worth, Florida. Respondent is now, and has been at all times material to the instant case, the holder of a public food service establishment license (license number 60-12633-R) authorizing it to operate Cups & Cones Yogurt. On July 31, 2001, Addie Alice Manulis, an inspector with Petitioner, conducted an inspection of the premises of Cups & Cones Yogurt. Her inspection revealed, among other things, that: the establishment did not have a food service manager certified by Petitioner1 (which is a critical violation because of the important public health-related function that certified food managers play in supervising and training employees in food protection and handling); there was no documentation on the premises establishing that employees had received required food service training (which is a critical violation because such training helps to prevent the spread of food-borne illnesses); the exit sign at the rear emergency exit was not illuminated; and the establishment had 12 seats, notwithstanding that its licensed capacity was ten and it had only one restroom. During her July 31, 2001, inspection, Ms. Manulis issued and served on Respondent a written warning in which she advised Respondent that the conditions described above constituted violations of the law and that if these violations were not remedied by September 4, 2001, administrative penalties would be imposed against Respondent. Ms. Manulis had previously visited Cups & Cones Yogurt in early April of 2001, to inspect the establishment. Following that visit, she provided Respondent with a written "comments sheet," on which she wrote, among other things, the following: Proof of food employee training not available. . . . Note- Food manager card for Mohammed Chowdhurry expires 5/13/01.2 All managers must be certified- phone #s given. . . . Ms. Manulis returned to the premises of Cups & Cones Yogurt on September 4, 2001, and found that the violations described above had not been corrected. Respondent had replaced a light bulb in the rear emergency exit sign following the July 31, 2001, inspection, but, nonetheless, the sign was not illuminated when Ms. Manulis returned to the establishment on September 4, 2001. In addition, one of Respondent's employees, Mahmudul Haque, had attempted to become a certified food service manager, but he had been unable to pass the certification test prior to September 4, 2001.
Recommendation Based upon the foregoing Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, it is hereby RECOMMENDED that Petitioner issue a final order finding that Respondent committed the violations alleged in Counts 1 through 4 of the Administrative Complaint and disciplining Respondent therefor by imposing a fine in the amount of $2,500.00, which may be paid in one lump sum or in monthly installments of no less than $250, and suspending Respondent's license for a period of up to 12 months if it fails to pay the fine as required. DONE AND ENTERED this 28th day of February, 2002, in Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida. STUART M. LERNER Administrative Law Judge Division of Administrative Hearings The DeSoto Building 1230 Apalachee Parkway Tallahassee, Florida 32399-3060 (850) 488-9675 SUNCOM 278-9675 Fax Filing (850) 921-6847 www.doah.state.fl.us Filed with the Clerk of the Division of Administrative Hearings this 28th day of February, 2002.
