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Southwest Side Restaurant Shut Down by City Health Dept. Spoiled Meat, Mouse Infestation
Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) inspectors have shut down a restaurant in the Back of the Yards neighborhood on the Southwest Side, after finding a broken refrigerator, food at unsafe temperatures, and an infestation of mice.
Taco Don Cuco, 1847 W. 47th Street, will remain closed until it has eliminated the infestation, corrected all violations cited and passed re-inspection.
CDPH inspectors found a reach-in cooler at 50 degrees, well below the 40 degrees or colder required by law. Inside the cooler were beef, pork, shrimp and eggs—all at temperatures above 50 degrees, and all of which was ordered discarded.
Inspectors also found mouse feces throughout the premises and a mouse carcass on a glue board trap.
The enforcement action was the 124th time in 2009 that Health Department inspectors have shut an establishment for food safety violations.
Representatives of Taco Don Cuco are scheduled to appear at an administrative hearing on August 20 and pay a fine expected to total $1,500.
Chicagoans who believe that a restaurant or other food establishment is operating in an unsafe manner are encouraged to report it by calling 311 or logging onto www.cityofchicago.org.