Feb 27, 2007 8:29 pm US/Eastern
In Wake Of Rats, Health Commish Pushes For Changes
Inspector Who Passed KFC/Taco Bell Removed From Post
by Marcia Kramer
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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In a stunning announcement, the NYC Department of Health said Feb. 24 the KFC/Taco Bell in Greenwich Village actually passed inspection on Feb. 22. Restaurant parent company Yum Brands issued a statement later in the day saying getting to the bottom of the
CBS
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The Department of Health closed the business until it passes re-inspection.
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Rats running rampant through a Greenwich Village KFC/Taco Bell restaurant on Feb. 23, 2007, remains the talk of the town.
CBS
Don't call it a witch-hunt, call it a rat hunt. The New York City Department of Health is re-evaluating all of its restaurant inspection programs after rats took over a Greenwich Village restaurant last week.
Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden made a big admission after seeing the well-publicized video of the rats running wild inside the KFC/Taco Bell at Sixth Avenue and West 4th Street.
"All of us have a horror of rats. And the fact is that rats are disgusting," Dr. Frieden said. "There's no excuse for allowing a rodent condition to exist and continue in any restaurant."
Frieden was on the hot seat Tuesday as he tried to explain how one of his inspectors gave the restaurant a passing grade a day before the incredible video surfaced on CBS 2 and around the country.
And there was also this, CBS 2 discovered that the last five inspections dating to November 2004 turned up mice or rat droppings on each occasion.
How could that happen without the restaurant being closed? Frieden admitted a policy change might be in order.
"If you had a rodent infestation, particularly a rat infestation, and its not resolved that is something we need to look at very carefully and perhaps do need to close those restaurants," Frieden said.
The commissioner took the following steps on Wednesday:
*Removed the inspector who gave the passing grade,
*Ordered a review of all previous inspections done by the inspectors.
*Ordered a re-inspection of about 20 restaurants owned by the same operators.
*Referred the case to D.O.I.
*Ordered a review of rodent infestation policies.
"Clearly the inspection was unacceptable the day before," Frieden said. "There's no question about that."
The restaurant fired Juan Maldonado 16 months ago for complaining about the rat problem.
"I used to see the rats coming out a 4 o'clock in the morning when I used to open sometimes," Maldonado said. "And when I cleaned behind the garbage can there were big holes. I always told the management to fix the holes. They never did nothing about it."
The commissioner said that there would be new training in rodent infestation for all 115 health inspectors over the next eight weeks.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
SLIDESHOW: Rat Invasion At KFC
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