Orange County Health Inspectors Find 14 Critical Violations, 32 Flawless Restaurants in February

China Star at 731 Route 211 East in Middletown racked up 10 violations during a Feb. 25 inspection, including three critical infractions, making it one of the most-cited eateries in Orange County's February health inspection sweep. Across all 54 inspections conducted last month, the Orange County Health Department found 14 establishments with critical violations, 32 with none at all, and 18 carrying unfixed problems from prior inspections.

Critical violations carry an immediate correction requirement because, according to a New York State Department of Health spokesperson, they involve "food source and condition, food cooking and storage temperatures, sanitary practices of food workers, water and sewage, pest contamination of food and the use of toxic materials." Inspectors do not grade on a pass/fail scale in New York state, but critical violations must be addressed on the spot.

Pizza E Birra/Planet Wings at 287 Route 211 East in Middletown was also inspected on Feb. 24 and flagged with violations, though itemized counts were not released in publicly available summaries. Amendola's Pizzeria & Pasta at 28 Lake Street in Monroe drew two critical citations: inspectors found cracked or dirty eggs and unpasteurized egg products (Item 1G), and toxic chemicals improperly labeled or stored where food contamination could occur (Item 4A). Iron Chef Hibachi & Sushi Fusion at 365 Route 32 in Central Valley received the same Item 4A citation, along with a finding that food workers were not using proper utensils to avoid bare-hand contact with cooked or prepared foods (Item 3C). Desi Dhaba Indian Restaurant at 177 South Plank Road in Newburgh also appeared among the cited establishments.

Item 4A, covering improperly labeled or stored toxic chemicals, emerged as a recurring critical violation across multiple Orange County restaurants in February. Alexis Diner at 5023 Route 9W South in Newburgh was cited for that same chemical-storage violation alongside a finding that potentially hazardous foods were held at room temperature rather than under refrigeration (Item 5C). Fetch Bar & Grill at 48 Main Street in Warwick received an Item 4A citation as well, paired with a cooling failure: inspectors found that hazardous foods were not being cooled from 120°F to 70°F within two hours and from 70°F to 45°F within four additional hours, as required (Item 5B). New Tai Fu Japanese & Chinese Restaurant at 680 Route 211 East in Middletown also appeared on the list of 14 cited establishments.

New York state oversees more than 90,000 food service establishments statewide, a universe that includes schools, nursing homes, and any other facility operating an on-site kitchen for the public. Inspection reports are public documents and the full database, searchable by county, restaurant name, or address, is available at data.recordonline.com. "Each report is a snapshot in time, reflecting observations from a single day when inspectors were in the restaurant," the Times Herald-Record noted in its coverage of the February data, adding that "a clean slate in one report also doesn't mean problems can't arise later."

The February results offer a mixed but ultimately cautionary picture: nearly 60 percent of inspected establishments in Orange County operated without a single recorded violation, while roughly one in four carried either a critical finding or unresolved issues from a previous visit.