Pink slime, dead bugs: Read Centre County’s March restaurant inspections
At least one Centre County establishment was found out of compliance following routine food safety inspections conducted throughout March.
The county’s lone failed inspection came from a Boalsburg church whose most recent inspection produced several violations surrounding cleanliness and sanitation procedures.
Forty other establishments appear alphabetically in this story after passing inspections with few or no violations. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s online database, no restaurants or establishments in the county failed routine inspections between October and February.
Information regarding county establishments and their violations appears below in an alphabetical list with a summary of the problems inspectors noted in their respective reports. More details are available upon request by visiting the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s online database.
Business owners who wish to clarify or comment on inspection results can contact Centre Daily Times reporter Matt DiSanto by emailing mdisanto@centredaily.com.
About food safety inspections
In accordance with Pennsylvania law, eating and drinking establishments are inspected at least once per year. Some schools, including the State College Area School District, receive biannual inspections.
Pennsylvania’s Department of Agriculture may conduct additional inspections if complaints are received or if initial inspections are not up to code.
Most observed violations are minor in scope and are corrected during inspections, but some establishments may temporarily close if too many violations are found. Closures may occur as a result of other issues, including risks for foodborne illnesses or violations that take time to address, such as broken plumbing or pest infestations.
Most inspections in Centre County are conducted at the state level through the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. More than 100 municipalities directly conduct their health inspections through certified officials who fall under their jurisdiction. State College, for example, is responsible for performing inspections in the borough and in Ferguson, Patton and College townships, a borough official said.
Once inspections are complete and reports are published, you can browse them online by visiting pafoodsafety.state.pa.us/web/inspection/publicinspectionsearch.aspx. You can look up establishments by name or filter results to specific cities, counties and ZIP codes.
Out-of-compliance inspections in March
Calvary Baptist Church, 150 Harvest Fields Drive in Boalsburg — A March 20 routine inspection found eight violations at this establishment that largely concerned cleanliness and sanitation.
According to an inspection report filed by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, sanitarian Stephanie Eakin observed the buildup of old food residue and grease on a flat-top grill that was “not clean to sight and touch.” Eakin also observed pink slime on the interior shield of an ice machine. Both were marked as repeat violations in reference to the church’s most recent inspection in August 2023.
The report claims Eakin spotted a working container of grill cleaner stored directly above saltine crackers and saw lighter fluid stored on the same shelf as food and other equipment in a dry storage area.
The church violated health codes by using time instead of temperature “to control ready-to-eat potentially hazardous foods without written procedures or documentation to verify disposition of food.” Eakin’s report claims she saw six bottles of coffee creamer left out at room temperature for an undetermined amount of time, which were later moved into a cooler.
Eakin wrote a temperature-measuring device was not available or readily accessible for the Whirlpool and Master-Bilt reach-in coolers. This was also a repeat violation, the report reads.
Eakin observed a dead bug behind the door gasket of a Master-Bilt reach-in freezer, which was cleaned during the inspection, according to the report.
According to the department’s report, Calvary Baptist Church’s food facility “does not have available sanitizer test strips or [a] test kit to determine appropriate sanitizer concentration.” The report also suggests the person in charge of the food service area “did not demonstrate adequate knowledge of food safety in this food facility, as evidenced by this non-compliant inspection.”
Several violations flagged in the inspection — including buildups of pink slime and food residue — were ordered to be corrected by April 2. The department has not publicly filed any follow-up reports as of April 3.
How to complain about conditions
If you see a problem at a retail food or lodging establishment, you can file a complaint to catch officials’ attention.
To notify the commonwealth about questionable conditions anywhere food is served or sold to the public, call 1-866-366-3723 or fill out the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s food safety complaint form, available online at pda.pa.gov/FoodSafetyComplaint/. The form asks for consumer information, facility details and a full description of each complaint.
You can also contact the commonwealth’s Bureau of Food Safety and Laboratory Services directly by calling 717-787-4315 or emailing RA-FoodSafety@pa.gov.
Locally, you can report concerns to State College officials by calling 814-234-7100 or emailing healthdept@statecollegepa.us.
These establishments passed inspections in March
- Alloy Kitchen, 2042 Axemann Road in Bellefonte
- Bagel Love, 2122 N. Atherton St. in State College
- Buffalo Wild Wings, 134 S. Garner St. in State College
- C.C. Peppers North, 1625 N. Atherton St. in State College
- Cafe Lemont, 921 Pike St. Suite 103 in Lemont
- Centre Hall Elementary School, 211 N. Hoffer St. in Centre Hall
- Champs Sports Grill, 1611 N. Atherton St. in State College
- Chick-fil-A Happy Valley, 1938 N. Atherton St. in State College
- College Buffet, 1631 N. Atherton St. in State College
- Crazy Boil, LLC, 1617 N. Atherton St. in State College
- Dolce Vita Desserts LLC, 2490 Commercial Blvd. in State College
- Dunkin 1381 E. College Ave. in State College
- Fuji Jade Garden and My Thai, 287 Northland Center in State College
- Graduate State College (The Trophy Room), 125 S. Atherton St. in State College
- Howard Fire Co. #1, 341 Walnut St. in Howard
- Johnston Commons, 215 Johnston Commons in University Park
- Legion in the Woods Inc., 1950 Pine Hall Road in State College
- Little Szechuan, 228 W. College Ave. in State College
- Lyken’s Market #4, 1245 Zion Road in Bellefonte
- Milesburg Lions Club, 101 Mill St. in Milesburg
- Millheim Fireman’s Club, 103-105 North St. in Millheim
- Mount Nittany Vineyard & Winery, 300 Houser Road in Centre Hall
- Our Lady of Victory School, 900 Westerly Parkway in State College
- Panera Bread (Lewis Katz Law Building), 125 Lewis Katz Building in University Park
- Papa John’s Pizza #821, 2110 N. Atherton St. in State College
- Penns Valley Area Elementary and Intermediate School, 4528 Penns Valley Road in Spring Mills
- Penns Valley Area Junior-Senior High School, 4545 Penns Valley Road in Spring Mills
- Snowfox (Weis), 170 Buckaroo Lane in Bellefonte
- St. John the Evangelist School, 116 E. Bishop St. in Bellefonte
- St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church (TFS4), 134 E. Bishop St. in Bellefonte
- STR Concessions (MFF3), 117 Forest View Lane in Millheim
- Subway, 2790 W. College Ave. in State College
- The Blonde Bistro Brew Works, 226 Nittany Valley Drive in Bellefonte
- The Naked Egg, 320 Pine Grove Road in State College
- The Parlor, 167 S. Potter St. in Bellefonte
- Titan Hollow, 2042 Axemann Road Suite 179 in Bellefonte
- Twin Kiss, 2495 N. Eagle Valley Road in Howard
- Uni-Mart, 1473 Port Matilda Highway in Philipsburg
- Weis #187, 170 Buckaroo Lane in Bellefonte
- Wings Over Happy Valley, 244 W. Hamilton Ave. in State College
Note: Occasionally, a listed address — especially for mobile vendors and food trucks — is not where food is actually served to the public. Contact those establishments for specific service locations.
This story was originally published April 4, 2025 at 6:15 AM.
%202.JPG)