HONOLULU – The Hawai‘i Department of Health (DOH) issued a red placard and immediately shut down Cooking Fresh, located at 550 South Beretania Street in the Queen’s Medical Center POB III, due to a lack of proper refrigeration.

The food establishment, operated by Cooking Fresh, LLC, received the red placard on October 30, 2023, and must remain closed until DOH conducts a follow-up inspection and all the violations are resolved.

During a routine inspection conducted on October 30, the DOH inspector noted critical violations including:

• None of the refrigerators on-site holding food at safe temperatures;
• Hand-washing sink not accessible;
• And improper food equipment sanitizing procedures.

DOH is requiring the food establishment to take the following corrective actions before it can reopen. Establishment must have refrigeration units cold-holding at 41F or below.

The next follow-up inspection is scheduled for October 31.

The DOH Food Safety Branch protects and promotes the health of Hawai‘i residents and visitors through education of food industry workers and regulation of food establishments statewide. The branch conducts routine health inspections of food establishments where food products are prepared, manufactured, distributed, or sold.

For more information on the department’s placarding program go to http://health.hawaii.gov/san/

To view restaurant inspection reports, go to http://hi.healthinspections.us/hawaii/.