State and county food inspectors have cited Iowa restaurants and grocery stores for hundreds of food-safety violations in the past month, forcing some of them to temporarily shut down.

The findings are reported by the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals, which handles food-establishment inspections at the state level. One is:

Taqueria La Bendicion Food Truck, 900 Superior St., Webster City – During an Aug. 29 visit to this food truck, which was parked at a car wash next to a Dollar General store, a state inspector determined the food-safety violations were sufficient to shut down the operation. “Person in charge voluntarily closed mobile unit and agreed not to reopen until reinspection can occur,” the inspector reported.

The food truck was cited for the fact that there was no certified food protection manager on staff and the person in charge was not conducting operations effectively.

The inspector reported seeing flies on chicken that was left sitting out at room temperature next to a grill. The inspector also reported finding cooked rice that was measured at 51 degrees and large containers of chicken that were measured at 78 to 82 degrees – all of which had to be discarded.

“No system in place for dating foods,” the inspector reported. “Raw chicken stored in handwashing sink… No thermometer available to measure temperatures of cooked chicken and beef … Potatoes stored directly on the mobile (unit’s) floor.”