Safety concerns stop sale of food at Thursdays On Third
By Deb GauThe plan was to highlight Marshall's cultural diversity through food and music at Thursdays On Third, organizer Ellayne Conyers said.
But after food safety concerns were raised last week, that plan has been temporarily put on hold.
The Hindi Store in Marshall was planning on selling sambusas, a type of meat-filled pocket pastry, at last week's Thursdays On Third after a visit from a Minnesota Department of Agriculture food inspector found that the store didn't have a way to transport the pastries at temperatures outlined in state food codes.
"It's certainly not our intent to limit the promotion of Marshall or its businesses, but our goal is to help ensure food safety," said Jan Kelly, food inspection supervisor with the MDA Dairy and Food Inspection department.
Kelly said she learned the Hindi Store was planning to have food at Thursdays On Third through newspaper advertisements for the event.
"It kind of raised a red flag for me," Kelly said.
The MDA oversees food manufacturers and grocery stores, she said, while the Department of Health oversees restaurants. In order for a business like the Hindi Store to sell cooked food at a special event, it needs to be in compliance with state safety standards.
Conyers, the director of the Lyon County Historical Society Museum and one of the organizers of Thursdays On Third, said local restaurants and businesses might still be able to contribute food to the event in the future. Conyers said she is trying to purchase a temporary license to allow it, but this week's Thursdays on Third will go without a food selection.
"This week, we won't have it," Conyers said. "I'm waiting to hear back from the state."
Conyers had been working with Ahmed Omar, the owner of the Hindi Store, to bring traditional Somali cooking to the event last week. Omar said his idea was to offer sambusas.
"I thought, my dad owns a restaurant in Mankato," Omar said. The plan was to have his father's restaurant make the sambusas and bring them to Marshall.
But before that could happen, he said, he was visited by Kelly.
"The inspector said we can't transport them, because you need to have the right kind of equipment," Omar said.
"For potentially hazardous food, which includes cooked vegetables and meats, it needs to be kept either hot or cold," Kelly said. The Hindi Store didn't have a way to bring sambusas made outside of Marshall into town at safe temperatures - 140 degrees or higher for hot foods, or 41 degrees or lower for refrigerated foods. "And we do require mechanical refrigeration," Kelly said.
Keeping cooked food at a constant hot or cold temperature helps keep bacteria or other harmful organisms from contaminating it, she said.
Conyers said she thought it was possible that someone could have notified the food inspectors about Thursdays On Third, but Kelly said the inspection was the result of her own discovery.
"I've been familiar with the area for a long time. I've worked with Mr. Omar and the Hindi Store," Kelly said.
"It's the government. You can't do nothing about it," Omar said of not being able to sell sambusas at the event.
But at the same time, he said, he wasn't worried about the inspection, and he could understand Kelly's concerns. "You don't want people to get sick."
Omar said there might still be a chance for local residents to try Somali traditional cooking in the future.
He said he has applied for a state license to expand his store to include some fresh-cooked foods.
"I could maybe open my own, like a restaurant or a deli," he said.
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JasonsStorm
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07-04-09 12:15 AM
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I guess we shouldn't be surprised that the Hindi Place is what got the food shut down. I think in their culture, that food safety is considered as "as long as 50% of people didn't get sick, then the food is safe to eat." Let's just hope the Rat Buffet, I mean the Panda Buffet, doesn't start serving food down there.
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ruralroute
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07-03-09 5:27 PM
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EF, maybe you should run against the mayor.
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EdmundFitzgerald
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07-03-09 12:07 AM
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I don’t have any specific complaints against any of the restaurants downtown. What DOES bother me is the mayor’s claim that his downtown is a “gem”. It’s really a lump of coal, and it’s got a long stinking way to go before it’s a diamond.
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jdew555
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07-02-09 11:57 PM
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RR hit it on the nose!!
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rangeral
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07-02-09 10:20 PM
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No more bake sales, church pot lucks, farmer's markets that provide baked items, etc. We don't seem to get sick from any of these activities but look at the highly regulated businesses that seem to actually kill off hundreds of our citizens every year - spinach, peanut butter, beef jerky, etc.
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ruralroute
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07-02-09 7:48 PM
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actually, I wouldn't include two of those...some other places that double as places to have a cold one.
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unbornsrights
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07-02-09 3:08 PM
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are you guys talking about hunan? daily grind? the mexican restaurant?
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jdew555
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07-02-09 2:03 PM
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I would agree about some of the restraunts in the downtown are dangerous
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ZorroW
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07-02-09 11:45 AM
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Yes, I constantly hear about people getting sick from the local fast food places...
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ruralroute
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07-02-09 10:59 AM
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EF, I wonder if Ms. Kelly has bothered to inspect any of the other businesses downtown that serve food...hate to see what some (not all) of them would be cited for.
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EdmundFitzgerald
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07-02-09 12:13 AM
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The event takes place one-half block from the Hotel Marshall building, which contains rat carcasses, bat manure, garbage, and broken windows. And now, suddenly, it’s a big deal to transport food from out of the area?
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