Vietnamese restaurant near Pasadena passes inspection despite some problems

A Vietnamese restaurant in the Pasadena area recently passed a Harris County health inspection, though officials did need to correct two violations.

The inspection of Hoang My Restaurant, located at 10941 Scarsdale Blvd., took place on Feb. 9. The restaurant received eight demerits out of a possible 100. An establishment must earn 20 demerits or more to be considered "of concern" and in need of a follow-up visit.

Five demerits were given for a "cold hold" violation at the restaurant, which usually means that food that needed to stay cool was held over 41 degrees Fahrenheit for more than four hours. This is one of the violations that the county website says are commonly associated with food-borne illness by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The rest of the demerits were given for problems with proper dishwashing and sanitizing.

The score is more or less typical for My Hoang. The location received seven demerits in a November and April visits by the county in 2010. And after seeing evidence of insect contamination in July 2010, officials requested a return visit, in which they indicated the problem had not been corrected. No signs of such contamination have been reported by inspectors since that visit, though.

For more information on how Harris County conducts food safety inspections, visit www.hcphes.org.