Fort St. John eateries given ‘moderate’ food safety ratings after inspectors report violations

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Restaurants in Fort St. John have been found in violation of food safety health code regulations this summer. 

Northern Health found both Whole Wheat and Honey Café and the Fort St. John Links Golf Course were not following some public health protection rules during inspections in June and August.

Northern Health food safety inspectors issue ratings ranging from ‘low’ with no critical hazards, ‘moderate’ meaning there are one or more hazards but the operator has demonstrated a willingness to comply, and ‘high’ meaning the establishment had several critical or non-critical hazards and could be deemed a health risk to the public.

Both businesses told Energeticcity.ca they have taken the appropriate steps to bring their places up to code.

Fort St. John Links Golf Course was issued a ‘moderate’ rating on August 6th, changed from its previous ‘low’ designation. 

Alleged violations included non-food items such as paint being stored in the same area as food, thus being at risk of cross-contamination.

Additionally, the business reportedly was “not free of pests,” with alleged evidence of mice droppings “on the front serving area in the lowest shelf and under the dish pit,” and a separate violation of foods “left uncovered and open to contamination.”

Links clubhouse manager Jeff Holland acknowledged there were violations but told Energeticcity.ca the restaurant has been brought up to code.

“There’s a few things just procedurally that we’d been missing that we’ve already addressed,” said Holland. “[It was] largely minor things such as some procedures that were supposed to be done at the end of the shift that were being done [at the start] of the shift.

“Things were being left overnight. Those have been corrected.”

Meanwhile, Whole Wheat and Honey Café was issued a ‘moderate’ rating back on June 4th after an earlier inspection rating of ‘high’ the previous day.

The most recent inspection was the fourth such rating of ‘moderate’ or ‘high’ during 2025.

Repeat violations by the eatery noted in the June 4th inspection report included staff allegedly “not washing their hands properly or at adequate frequency,” with inspectors allegedly observing an employee using “only water” and “instead of drying their hands, staff flickered [sic] the water off in the air.”

Other alleged repeat violations on June 4th included staff not having Foodsafe level one or equivalent certifications and not providing acceptable written food handling procedures.

These were all also found in the inspection a day prior, on June 3rd.

A violation from the June 3rd inspection also included food allegedly “not cooked or reheated in a manner that makes it safe to eat,” but this was “corrected during [the] inspection” and not seen on June 4th.

Assistant manager of Whole Wheat and Honey Café Noor Kaur said a change in ownership in March led to an improvement of health requirements, and all current staff have proper certification.

“[What happened in June] was [that] one employee had used his phone [while cooking],” said Kaur. “The employee was fired for that violation.

“I have sent [health inspectors] all the reports. We worked on everything. I’m working with the health inspector. I’m working on the violations.”

The full inspections list from Northern Health can be found here.

Update, September 13th, 4:20 p.m.: Both restaurants have now been reinspected and received ‘low’ ratings.