A Centretown restaurant serving Indian buffet committed more public health and food safety violations — including storing food in ways that could result in contamination — between 2009 and 2014 than any other restaurant in Ottawa.

Buffet Indian Aroma, located at 164 Laurier Ave. West, failed 38 inspections in almost five years, according to an analysis of data published by the City of Ottawa.

This is nine-and-a-half times higher than the average number of failed inspections by other restaurants in the capital during the same time period.

In many cases, the restaurant committed multiple violations —which a public health inspector labels as critical or non-critical — during a failed inspection.

“Critical” violations have to do with improper storage and preparation of food, such as failing to store raw and cooked foods separately. A “non-critical” infraction means the restaurant does not meet sanitation, design and maintenance regulations, such as failing to refill the liquid soap dispenser in the bathroom. These regulations are based on minimum standards outlined in Ontario’s Health Protection and Promotion Act.

In 2013 alone, Buffet Indian Aroma committed 24 violations over seven failed inspections, according to an online food safety inspection report. One-quarter of those violations were deemed “critical.”

A restaurant is fined for every violation, according to Kathy Downey, program manager at Ottawa Public Health. Fines range from $50 for failing to maintain the proper temperature in the freezer room to $375 for failing to have a hand-washing sink in the kitchen.

But Jamie Rilett, vice-president of Ontario at Restaurants Canada, said fines might not be the most effective punishment, as larger restaurants or chain restaurants might not blink at the cost.

To discourage non-compliance, Rilett says his organization — a non-profit association that represents restaurants across Canada through research, food safety training and government lobbying — first supports education and then closure until the problem is fixed.

“We don’t believe that there should be any corners cut in the service of food to the public,” Rilett said.

For Ottawa Public Health, Downey said education is the priority. She said education about public health regulations occurs at every inspection and food handlers are given the opportunity to correct certain issues during an inspection. Inspectors also encourage restaurant staff to enrol in the city’s food handler training courses.

“The more knowledge an operator and a food handler have on food safety, then the higher the chance of compliance,” Downey said.

Follow-up inspections generally occur in the days or weeks following a routine examination. Downey said it takes repetition of the same critical violations to warrant legal action or closure.

The public can help flag such repeated non-compliance. Downey said 12 inspections at Buffet Indian Aroma between 2009 and 2014 were generated from public complaints “related to sanitation, pest control or food borne illness.”

Indian restaurant also faced financial problems
Buffet Indian Aroma’s most recent inspection was June 11, 2014, but the restaurant’s doors closed before an inspector could pay another visit. Incidentally, its closure didn’t have to do with food safety.

According to a notice of distress taped to the restaurant’s window, the restaurant’s former owner, Dewan Chowdhury, owes $183,867.81 in rent payments to landlord Domenic Cambareri. The notice, issued Aug. 16, 2014, reads that Cambareri seized the restaurant’s inventory and equipment as repayment.

In order to regain his assets, Chowdhury needed to have paid his debt in full by Aug. 22, 2014.

Cambareri’s lawyer, Greg Farnand, said in an email that Chowdhury recently opened a new restaurant called Palki Cuisine of India at 1060 Ogilvie Rd. However, requests to reach Chowdhury at this new location were refused.

Other top offending restaurants in Ottawa include Feleena’s, located in the Glebe, and Lowertown Italian restaurant Stella Osteria. They failed their health inspections 30 and 28 times, respectively, between 2009 and 2014.