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Mecklenburg County Health Dept
Public Health Inspections
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Premises Information

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NameEL CILANTRO
Address4709 MARGARET WALLACE RD
STE 108
City/State/ZIP
MATTHEWS NC 28105
Premise Type1 - Restaurant
CountyMecklenburg
Inspection Date 10/20/2026
Final Score @ Grade
93 A
General Comments

Violations

 
CDI=Corrected During Inspection  R=Repeat Violation  VR=Verification Required 
Violation Item Demerits Violation Description CDIRVRComments
10 2 Handwashing sinks supplied & accessible Yes Yes No 6-301.12 Provide paper towels or approved alternative for hand drying at each handsink. -Pf- Observed no paper towels present at the hand sink in the kitchen.-CDI- PIC placed paper towels at the hand sink dispenser. Ensure that dispensers are always stocked with paper towels.
19 1.50 Proper reheating procedures for hot holding Yes No No 3-403.11 (A),(D) Reheat all TCS foods to 165F within 2 hours if food is to be hot held until service. -P- Observed black beans, pinto beans, pork, yellow rice all below 135F in the hot hold container. PIC stated that they were in the process of reheating, EHS asked how long they had been reheating for, PIC stated that they had been reheating since 7:00 AM. It was 11:00 AM when the observation was made. EHS explained that foods must be reheated to 165F within 2 hours. -CDI- PIC voluntarily discarded the foods. Ensure proper reheating procedures.
22 0 Proper cold holding temperatures Yes No No 3-501.16(A)(2) Maintain TCS foods in cold holding at 41F or less. -P- Observed ground beef and crab meat in the lowboy unit above 41F. -CDI- PIC stated that the foods had not left the unit all morning: voluntarily discarded. Observed raw pork in the unit at 42F. PIC moved the pork to the WIC to cool down. All other foods in the unit were 41F or below. Ensure that proper cold holding is done at 41F or below. For more information, please visit: www.mecknc.gov/foodsafety or view our training videos at the following weblinks: What are TCS Foods https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0iLZb7v0UM and Safe Food Temperatures https://youtu.be/tXP09IK-1TQ .
23 1.50 Proper date marking & disposition Yes No No 3-501.18 Discard the food requiring date labels once time/temperature window has expired, if it has not been labeled, or if the label is incorrect. -P The PIC should train and assign staff to monitor date marking to prevent the use of food products that are no longer in compliance with 3-501.17 (A), (B), or (C) Observed Empanadas in lowboy 2 unit with no Date marking present. Empanadas contain RTE filling. -CDI- Empanadas back dated. Observed Yucca in the WIC past 7 day date window. -CDI- Voluntarily discarded. Observed ground beef and crab in the RTE form with no date marking present. -CDI- Voluntarily discarded. All other foods in the facility were properly discarded. Ensure proper date marking. Improvements were made since last inspection but facility must continue to increase compliance in date marking. For more information, please visit: https://health.mecknc.gov/envhealth/food-and-facilities-sanitation or view our training videos at the following weblinks: What are TCS Foods https://youtu.be/bRvqAETDjQU and Date Marking Food Safely https://youtu.be/BOPsSNUajYs .
37 2 Food properly labeled: original container No Yes No 3-302.12 Label all working containers of food (oils, spices, salts, flour, sugar) except food that is easy to identify such as dry pasta. Observed 2 shaker bottles and 2 squeeze bottles unlabeled present along the cook line. Ensure that all working containers of food in the kitchen are properly labeled.
39 0 Contamination prevented during food preparation, storage & display Yes No No 3-305.11 Store food in a clean, dry location, not exposed to contamination. Keep at least 6 inches above the floor. Observed yucca present on the floor of the WIC. Ensure that food is maintained off of the floor at least 6 inches. No contamination observed. -CDI- Food lifted off of the floor.
41 0 Wiping cloths: properly used & stored No No No 3-304.14(B) Hold in-use wiping cloths in properly concentrated sanitizer between uses. Observed 2 in use wet wiping clothes stored out during the inspection on prep surfaces and next to the hand sink in the kitchen. Ensure that all in use wiping clothes are stored in sanitizer in between uses.