In the last two months, four restaurants at 150 University Ave. W., have had their food "seized and destroyed" by Waterloo Region Public Health as a result of routine inspections.

Inspectors conduct over 6,000 of these visits each year according to Aldo Franco, a manager of health protection investigations with the Region of Waterloo.

When food is thrown away "it's based on an assessment that the inspector does on site," Franco said, "how long it's been at a certain temperature, what we call the 'danger zone', anywhere between four and 60 degrees. If it's been there for a longer period of time bacteria and pathogens can grow and can cause somebody to get sick."

Campus Court Plaza

The four restaurants are all located in a single building, the westernmost in Campus Court Plaza. Mizu Restaurant and Grace and Healthy Dumplings face Phillip St. to the west while Mr. Yin Restaurant and Second Cup face University Ave. to the south.

The number of infractions given to these restaurants since September 1 puts them in the top 10 per cent of offenders among all restaurants in Waterloo Region during that same time period, data from the region's Public Health Services shows.

The data also shows that 906 establishments were inspected during the time period.

The other eight restaurants in the plaza have had fewer or even zero infractions in the last two months.

Food seizures and tickets

Mizu Restaurant has had 24 separate infractions over the course of three inspections since September 1.

In the span of three weeks they had food seized and destroyed twice.

Their most recent inspection had only one infraction, they failed to "ensure hazardous foods do not remain in the temperature range of 4C to 60C for more than two hours during handling, preparation or service," according to Public Health's inspection details availalblt to the public.

An attempt by CBC to speak in person with an owner or manager of Mizu was unsuccessful.

Mizu Restaurant faces west, toward Phillip St. and the University Shops Plaza (Matthew Pierce/CBC)

An inspection report dated October 18 for Grace and Healthy Dumplings shows zero infractions. Prior to that, though, they had a series of recurring infractions including issues with food temperature and dish washing.

Food was seized from the premises on October 2, and a ticket was issued during an inspection a week later.

In all, the restaurant has had 19 infractions since September 1.

Kevin Zhao, the owner of Grace and Healthy Dumplings, attributed the food seizure to a refrigeration issue.

He said a fridge that stores some of their vegetable side dishes was just one degree over the 4C limit required by the health inspector.

During their most recent inspection, Grace and Healthy Dumplings had no infractions. (Matthew Pierce / CBC)

In a written statement, representatives for the Second Cup location in Campus Court Plaza said that their seizure was the result of a milk refrigerator that malfunctioned the day the inspector came.

A subsequent inspection a week later found no infractions.

Seizures a last resort

"We try to work with the operator," Aldo Franco said, speaking about the department's efforts generally. He added that enforcement actions like writing a ticket or seizing food are options they reserve as a "final step."

"If by working with them we're not getting the behaviour change or the results, eventually we will do the enforcement piece," he said.

Mr. Yin Restaurant was the only restaurant among the four to have just one inspection in the last two months. An inspection in late August resulted in food being seized and destroyed, as did another visit in mid-September. There has not been a follow-up inspection to date in October.

Mr. Yin Restaurant and Second Cup face University Ave. to the south. (Matthew Pierce / CBC)

According to Franco, inspectors decide how many times they will visit an establishment based on a risk assessment.

The inspector came during their lunch rush, Mr. Yin Restaurant manager Max Pan told CBC. Some food that needed to be cooked immediately had been left out, and they had forgotten about it.

He said that the first seizure involved some meat products, but couldn't speak to the second incident as he was not working that day.

Staying informed

For students, or any other potential customers of the restaurants in Waterloo Region, the only way to see inspection results is by visiting Public Health's Check it! We inspect it! website. Some restaurants have outward facing stickers with a scannable code that takes users to the site.

In Toronto, restaurants are required to prominently display the result of their most recent health inspection to customers. Notices are green, yellow or red depending on the results of the inspection.

"Our system has been in place for over a decade now, and it's basically just providing people the information," Franco said.