The state's Department of Agriculture conducts yearly inspections of food-serving establishments to ensure public safety and safe food-handling practices. Schools are inspected twice per year, according to the Bureau of Food Safety and Laboratories.

Whether an establishment is considered compliant or non-compliant is the discretion of the inspector. There are, however, several violations for which inspectors should automatically consider establishments non-compliant. Called "critical violations," they include food temperature issues, issues with chemicals and how they're handled, and employee hygiene.

Depending on the severity of the situation, inspectors and their supervisors could file citations or close an establishment.

Below is a list of establishments listed for inspections conducted March 20-26.

OUT OF COMPLIANCE

Red Lion Tavern, 27 N. Main St., Red Lion.

Action: Issued five violations including a porcelain enamel-coated hand sink in the ladies restroom which is chipped and cracked around the rim and stained and worn in other areas, a hand sink in the men's restroom that doesn't provide water for at least 15 seconds without reactivation, broken or dry-rotted portions of flooring behind the bar, and not employing a supervisor who is certified in food safety.

Comment: Owner Elizabeth Gurreri said the bar is a safe and clean place to eat, and it typically passes inspection. She said the men's room sink had an automatic faucet that wasn't staying on, but that has been repaired. She said she's taking steps to correct the other violations, including repairing the lady's room sink and the floor.

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Riverfront Bar & Lounge, 338 S. Front St., Wrightsville.

Action: Issued nine violations, including raw beef patties being stored over cooked ground beef, raw shell eggs being stored over fresh produce in the walk-in refrigerator, a bulk tube of ground beef thawing inside the walk-in refrigerator while stored over top of commercially packaged canned goods, packaged bread items stored on a table directly under the wall-mounted soap dispenser, thermometers for ensuring proper food temperatures not available or readily accessible inside the bain marie unit, deeply scored and stained cutting boards, a brown and pink mold-like growth inside the bulk ice machine, deep fryer baskets with heavy accumulation of crusted food debris inside the baskets, food splatter on the upper inside of the microwave oven, a clean paring knife in the kitchen stabbed into the side of a cardboard box for storage, and no sign posted at the hand sink in the men's restroom to remind food employees to wash their hands.

Comment: Owner Katrina Pierce said all of the violations were corrected "on-the-spot," and this year's inspection was the first time in three years that the restaurant failed.

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Staub's Landing Restaurant & Pub, 612 Frederick St., Hanover.

Action: Issued 14 violations, including a food employee wearing jewelry, food employees not wearing hair restraints, raw beef stored above cooked chicken in walk-in cooler, and wet wiping cloths not stored in sanitizer solution. The inspector discarded deli meats, cheeses, eggs, tomatoes and dressings held at 51 degrees rather than the required 41 degrees or below.

Also issued violations for a plastic tub that was broken, a wire strainer has metal coming away from the frame, a cracked cooler handle, loose rubber door gaskets, single-use aluminum pans being re-used multiple times for food storage and/or preparation, old sticker residue on food storage containers, syrup residue in soda guns, mixer with dried food splatters on upper portions, a can opener with accumulation of food residue, food splatters in microwave, ceiling tiles with accumulation of static dust and grease, spilled food on walk-in freezer floor, hood filters with accumulation of grease, and a dirty ice machine lid.

Comment: Owner Chris Staub said some of the violations were "trivial, but they are food safety issues and they're important."

He said the refrigeration unit was freezing up because of the outside temperature and moisture changes in the air, and it has since been adjusted.

"This is something every restaurant deals with every year during season changes," he said.

Staub said the plastic tub was thrown out, and the wire strainer was replaced. The plastic handle for the reach-in door was repaired.

The gaskets are rubber magnetic gaskets used in refrigeration and some were cracked, he said.

"That's normal wear-and-tear and was replaced," he said.

The aluminum pans are cooking pans, and they were scrubbed and washed and sanitized after each use. They just aren't approved by the state for multiple use, he said.

All of the areas noted as dirty have been cleaned, he said.

The raw beef was stored over wings that would have had to have been fully cooked before being served, he said.

Staub said he was the employee who was wearing jewelry and had no hair restraint. He wears the bracelet in memory of a 30-year-old friend who died of cancer, he said.

"I've had it on my wrist since he passed away in January and didn't even think about it," he said. "And I didn't have a hat on. There's no excuse for it and it is what it is."

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IN COMPLIANCE

Auntie Anne's, 2801 E. Market St., York.

Capt. Bob's Crabs, 1 E. Main St., Railroad.

Capt. Bob's Crabs, 13 Mill Street, Stewartstown.

Dillsburg Elementary School, 202 S. Chestnut St., Dillsburg.

Friendship Elementary School, 3457 Sticks Road, Glen Rock.

McDonald's, 133 Leader Heights Road, York.

Northern Elementary School, 657 S. Baltimore St., Dillsburg.

Northern High School, 655 S. Baltimore St., Dillsburg.

Northern Middle School, 650 S. Baltimore St., Dillsburg.

Pizza by Alberto, 2736 S. Queen St., York.

Red Lion Area Junior High School, 200 Country Club Road, Red Lion.

Roma's Pizza & Restaurant, 2 E. Main St., Dallastown.

South Hills Golf Club, 925 Westminster Drive, Hanover.

Southern Elementary School, 3280 Fissels Church Road, Glen Rock.

Southern Middle School, 3280 Fissels Church Road, Glen Rock.

Springetts Fire Co., 3013 E. Market St., York.

Subway, 1881 Baltimore Pike, Hanover.

Susquehannock High School, 3280 Fissels Church Road, Glen Rock.

Sweet Frog Premium Frozen Yogurt, 2071 Springwood Road, York.

York Sunoco-Subway, 1000 S. George St., York.