Hunan Dragon III, a take-out Chinese restaurant in Decatur, was given a failing health score after a DeKalb County inspector noted several code violations that compromised food safety.

For example, one set of tongs was used to handle raw beef, raw pork and raw chicken. The inspector said that separate tongs needed to be used on different animal products to minimize cross contamination of bacteria.

Also, food prep items taken from the cooler were left out too long. Some cracked eggs, a garlic and oil mixture and some partially cooked chicken wings were discarded because the temperatures were too high.

The inspector told employees to take out only what they need to cook, and leave the rest in the cooler.

Hunan Dragon III, 1248 Clairmont Road, scored a 54/U on the routine inspection.

Among other code violations, raw chicken was being thawed improperly. Some was left out at room temperature. Other chicken was being thawed in a sink with dirty dishes. The inspector said sinks had to be cleared of dishes and sanitized before using them to thaw raw meats under running water.

Also, leftover foods were not marked with a discard date. Food prep employees were not wearing hair restraints. Aluminum foil and cardboard were used to line food contact surfaces. Food debris was found on clean utensils, and the floors had grease build-up.

Hunan Dragon III will be re-inspected later this month.

A restaurant employee said the code violations have been taken care of and employees are just waiting for the inspector to return so they can get an improved score.

Previous scores were 81/B and 71/C.

Here are other recent inspection scores from area restaurants.

Cobb County

• Derek’s, 1438 Canton Road, Marietta. 100/A
• El Salvador Bakery, 172 Windy Hill Road, Marietta. 76/C
• Johnnie MacCracken’s, 15 Atlanta St., Marietta. 79/C
• Longhorn Steakhouse, 1355 East-West Connector, Austell. 99/A
• Pisano’s Pizzeria, 2740 Summers St., Kennesaw. 99/A

DeKalb County

• Kaleidoscope Bistro, 1410 Dresden Drive, Atlanta. 96/A
• La Casona, 3820 Stewart Road, Doraville. 89/B
• Marlow’s Tavern, 1317 Dunwoody Village Parkway, Dunwoody. 96/A
• Mezacalito’s Cantina, 653 E. Lake Drive, Decatur. 81/B
• Universal Joint, 906 Oakview Road, Decatur. 87/B

Forsyth County

• Bello Italian, 101 Meadow Drive, Cumming. 99/A
• Coco’s Cuban, 1240 Buford Road, Cumming. 96/A
• Norman’s Landing, 365 Peachtree Parkway, Cumming. 95/A
• Sal’s Place, 111 W. Courthouse Square, Cumming. 98/A
• Taco Mac, 2607 Peachtree Parkway, Cumming. 100/A

Fulton County

• Carnegies, 55 Park Place, Atlanta. 76/C
• Cracker Barrel, 5580 Windward Parkway, Alpharetta. 97/A
• J. Christopher’s, 11725 Alpharetta Highway, Roswell. 100/A
• Pipiolo Mexican Café, 4842 Fulton Industrial Blvd., Atlanta. 99/A
• Rice Box, 931 Monroe Drive, Atlanta. 87/B

Gwinnett County

• Atlanta’s Best Wings, 4002 Highway 78, Snellville. 97/A
• El Patio, 193 N. Norcross Tucker Road, Norcross. 79/C
• GABBA, 4790 Peachtree Industrial Blvd., Berkeley Lake. 94/A
• Fernando’s Mexican Restaurant, 465 Dacula Road, Dacula. 82/B
• Mama Marie Pizza, 5570 Lawrenceville Highway, Lilburn. 97/A

– by Laura Berrios for the Food & More blog

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