Three more restaurants and another wholesale bakery were shut down this week by the city's board of health, but its chairman said all restaurants should be declared clean before summer.
"It doesn't look like it but the situation is improving out there," Toronto councillor John Filion said last night.
"Statistics will start to show a trend over the next few weeks and within a couple of months we'll be able to say that we've solved the problem and that Toronto's restaurants are cleaner than anywhere else because no one else has done this," he said.
The Primavera Bakery and Pastry at 1448 Dundas St. W. was closed yesterday because health inspectors found evidence of a mouse and insect infestation. It also had no pest-control program in place and lacked proper ventilation and a hand-washing basin.
Also closed yesterday because of an active mouse infestation and unsanitary conditions was the Danforth Fruit Market at 3701 Keele St.
On Wednesday, the Dominion Donut and Coffee Shop at 830 Bloor St. W. was closed following a complaint about a heavy mouse infestation, general disrepair and unsafe food-handling practices. It makes doughnuts for wholesale buyers and does not sell directly to the public.
On Tuesday, a serious mouse and cockroach problem forced Yamase at 317 King St. W. to close down.
Because of the magnitude of the problem discovered during the inspection blitz, the board plans to make it easier for the public to know how the restaurants they patronize rank on health and safety. Mr. Filion said that the board hopes to have a grading system in place by the fall for all of the city's 20,000 eateries.
Meanwhile, five restaurants that were forced to close during the first two weeks of the inspection campaign were allowed to reopen this week after cleaning up.
They are: the Isabella Bar and Grill on Sherbourne Street, the Wah Too Restaurant on Dundas Street, the Beemah Restaurant on Gerrard Street East, the Pok Lo Malayasian Restaurant on Dundas Street West, the Scarborough Grand Seafood Restaurant on Glenwatford Drive and Mr. Wong's Super Buffet on Markham Road. Last week, in the second week of the blitz, 115 of the 140 restaurants inspected had problems that required reinspection. Nine were charged with infractions, some minor.