WESTFIELD — A local Mexican restaurant will need to clean up its act if it hopes to avoid mandatory closures, members of the Westfield Board of Health said Monday.
La Bendita, a fast-casual eatery located on Quimby Street, has been cited numerous times over the course of the past two years for violations ranging from improper food storage and restaurant cleanliness to missing certifications and unsafe handling techniques.
“A lot of these violations were corrected on site, but they did persist across numerous inspections,” said Health Inspector Christie Calmon, adding that an as-of-yet unsubstantiated claim of food-borne illness also has been levied against the restaurant.
During one recent inspection, Ms. Calmon said, La Bendita’s manager chose to lock the front door of the establishment to keep customers from coming into the shop while health officials were present. “We need to see food preparation, cooking and hand-washing procedures in real time when we’re doing these inspections,” Ms. Calmon said. “These issues had been a problem in the past, but because there were no customers coming in, we were unable to see if they had been properly addressed.”
Jamie Valverde, the restaurant’s owner, said the violations have all since been corrected.
“I bought this restaurant in 2022, and at the time, I knew there were issues,” he said. “I’ve been fixing things as they come up, and I can assure you that we have been taking the proper precautions.”
Going forward, Health Officer Megan Avallone said, La Bendita will be subject to a mandatory two-day closure for any “less than satisfactory” inspection that it may receive.
“Please understand that this is not a punitive thing,” Ms. Avallone said. “We just need to make sure that these protocols are being followed to keep everyone safe.”
The board of health also led a brief conversation on Monday evening about a dangerous substance called Neptune’s Fix, a synthetic smoke-shop supplement that has been linked to serious medical conditions and complications.
According to information provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the product, sometimes known as “gas station heroin,” has been known to cause seizures, brain swelling and violent hallucinations. And while the previously unregulated supplement was recalled at the national level earlier this year, Principal Health Inspector Helen Mendez said Monday that local residents should still take precautions to steer clear.
“This product contains Tianeptine, which is a synthetic anti-depressant that acts like an opiate in large quantities. In other countries, it is available as a prescription, but here it is banned by the Food and Drug Administration,” Ms. Mendez said. “We went to 17 establishments inWestfield to make sure that it wasn’t being sold in our town. We did find it in two establishments, and all of those products were embargoed. Even still, just something to keep an eye out for.”
