The state Health Department has issued a red placard to Vietnamese Cuisine Restaurant in Kihei, Maui, closing it down due to a roach infestation in the kitchen and multiple food safety violations.

The department announced the closure on Wednesday, and says the restaurant has until Sept. 17 to correct the violations for a follow-up inspection.

A health inspector that recently visited the restaurant observed 20 to 30 live roaches, crawling on plates, bowls, plastic-wrapped containers, the dishwasher area, and on foodservice countertops, according to the department.

Roaches were also found crawling in a flour bowl, in cooked rice, and inside a container of vegetables in the prep chill refrigerator.

In addition, the inspector found a number of other violations that were foodborne illness risk factors, which the restaurant corrected immediately.

These included the lack of soap at a hand sink, while another handwash sink was inaccessible, and used to store pans and other items.

The inspector also found raw beef stored in the same container as cooked beef in the prep chill unit, and cooked shrimp and chicken stored in a walk-in refrigerator that were not properly labeled for seven-day discard.

A copy of the inspection report is available at this link.