This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2006, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The Salt Lake Valley Health Department closed the Samba Grill restaurant, located in The Gateway outdoor shopping mall, for approximately 24 hours beginning Thursday afternoon.
The restaurant was allowed to reopen at approximately 1 p.m. Friday after it demonstrated critical problems identified by health inspectors had been addressed, said Eric Peterson, enforcement coordinator for the department's Division of Environmental Health.
Inspectors said the eatery, located at 162 S. 400 West, had a string of health code violations including potentially hazardous hot and cold food being held between 40 to 140 degrees - the danger zone for bacteria growth.
The person in charge was not able to demonstrate food-safety knowledge, including not ensuring that employees are washing their hands properly and understanding the relationship between temperature and food-borne illness.
Among the other violations:
* Cooks washed hands without soap and did not wash their hands prior to putting on gloves.
* There was no probe-style thermometer available to take food product temperatures.
* The hand sink was used to fill pots and pans with water for cooking.
* Raw chicken was stored above raw beef in a walk-in freezer.
* The interior of the walk-in refrigerator had dried blood accumulated on the floor.