A few issues earn eatery a failing grade

A family-run Chinese restaurant in Alpharetta had only a few health code violations during a recent routine inspection, but it was enough to lower its perfect score to a failing one.

Lee Garden, 11770 Haynes Bridge Road, was given a 65 because the certified food safety manager couldn’t answer basic food safety questions, and there was no employee health policy and no soap or paper towels at the hand washing sink.

These code violations carry stiffer penalties because they’re considered essential in preventing food-borne illnesses, according to the report.

For Lee Garden, the main issues involved a walk-in cooler that needed reorganizing and appliances and other equipment that needed cleaning.

Points were taken off because raw animal-based food was not properly separated from ready-to-eat food.

“We didn’t know that eggs weren’t supposed to be that close to the cooked food,” said David Lee, the owner’s son.

“We also had some minor cleaning issues,” he added.

The microwave and toaster oven had heavy food buildup, and food debris was found on the inside of the coolers and along the cold food holding line.

Buckets of sanitizing solution, used for cleaning foodcontact surfaces, had not been prepared at the time of the Sept. 14 inspection.

Lee said the restaurant is expecting a follow-up inspection this week. Its previous scores were 100/A and 79/C.