PLUM TREE JAPANESE RESTAURANT
113 DRYDEN ROAD, ITHACA, NY 14850 · Restaurant (Restaurant)
Inspection summary
PLUM TREE JAPANESE RESTAURANT has been inspected 33 times by New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) since March 14, 2014. The most recent inspection, on September 1, 2026, found no infractions.
19 of 33 inspections on record found no infractions at all. In the past 12 months there were 2 inspections with 0 infractions recorded. The higher-risk findings here relate to: Food temperature control, Cleaning and sanitizing and Handwashing and staff hygiene.
The last 8 inspections in a row found no infractions. The number of infractions per inspection has stayed roughly the same over time.
What these findings mean
Health authorities word their violations differently, so we group them by what they mean for food safety. Higher-risk findings are the ones inspectors treat as critical, because they can directly make someone sick.
Food temperature controlHigher risk
Bacteria multiply fastest between about 4 °C and 60 °C (40 °F to 140 °F). Inspectors check that cold food stays cold, hot food stays hot, cooked food is cooled quickly, and that staff have accurate thermometers. Temperature problems are one of the most common causes of food poisoning, so these are treated as critical findings.
Recorded 15 times across 11 separate inspections, most recently on March 28, 2023. For example:
Improper thawing procedures used
Cleaning and sanitizingHigher risk
Anything that touches food, such as cutting boards, dishes and utensils, must be washed, rinsed and sanitized. Inspectors check dishwasher temperatures, sanitizer strength and how wiping cloths are stored. Poor sanitizing lets bacteria survive from one use to the next.
Recorded 6 times across 5 separate inspections, most recently on October 4, 2022. For example:
Wiping cloths dirty, not stored properly in sanitizing solutions
Handwashing and staff hygieneHigher risk
Hands are the main way germs like norovirus move from people to food. Inspectors look for stocked, accessible handwashing sinks, staff washing hands when required, hair restraints, and sick employees being kept away from food. Gaps here can spread illness quickly.
Recorded 6 times across 5 separate inspections, most recently on March 7, 2019. For example:
Food workers prepare raw and cooked or ready to eat food products without 'thorough handwashing and sanitary glove changing in between.
Protecting food from contaminationHigher risk
This covers how food is stored, prepared and displayed: raw meat kept away from ready-to-eat food, food covered and stored off the floor, and nothing dripping or splashing into it. Cross-contamination from raw to cooked food is a direct route for salmonella and E. coli.
Recorded 4 times across 3 separate inspections, most recently on March 28, 2023. For example:
Food not protected during storage, preparation, display, transportation and service, from potential sources of contamination (e.g., food uncovered, mislabeled, stored on floor, missing or inadequate sneeze guards, food containers double stacked)
PestsHigher risk
Signs of mice, rats, cockroaches or flies, or gaps and clutter that let them get in or hide. Pests carry bacteria and can contaminate food and surfaces, so evidence of activity is treated seriously and usually triggers a follow-up visit.
Recorded once on June 8, 2021. For example:
Effective measures not used to control entrance (rodent-, insect-proof contruction). Harborage areas available for rodents, insects and other vermin
About this data
These results come from New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH), which inspects food premises and other public facilities in this area. We republish the authority's public disclosure data and refresh it regularly; the official record is the final word.
33 inspections
- Inspection
0 infractions
- Inspection
0 infractions
- Inspection
0 infractions
- Inspection
0 infractions
- Inspection
0 infractions
- Inspection
0 infractions
- Inspection
0 infractions
- Re-Inspection
0 infractions
- Inspection
3 infractions
- 8A: Food not protected during storage, preparation, display, transportation and service, from potential sources of contamination (e.g., food uncovered, mislabeled, stored on floor, missing or inadequate sneeze guards, food containers double stacked)
- Not Critical Violation
- 8F: Improper thawing procedures used
- Not Critical Violation
- 5C: Potentially hazardous foods are not stored under refrigeration except during necessary preparation or approved precooling procedures (room temperature storage).
- Critical Violation
- 8A: Food not protected during storage, preparation, display, transportation and service, from potential sources of contamination (e.g., food uncovered, mislabeled, stored on floor, missing or inadequate sneeze guards, food containers double stacked)
- Inspection
2 infractions
- 8E: Accurate thermometers not available or used to evaluate refrigerated or heated storage temperatures
- Not Critical Violation
- 11B: Wiping cloths dirty, not stored properly in sanitizing solutions
- Not Critical Violation
- 8E: Accurate thermometers not available or used to evaluate refrigerated or heated storage temperatures
- Re-Inspection
0 infractions
- Inspection
1 infraction
- 5A: Potentially hazardous foods are not kept at or below 45�F during cold holding, except smoked fish not kept at or below 38�F during cold holding.
- Critical Violation
- 5A: Potentially hazardous foods are not kept at or below 45�F during cold holding, except smoked fish not kept at or below 38�F during cold holding.
- Inspection
0 infractions
- Inspection
3 infractions
- 14B: Effective measures not used to control entrance (rodent-, insect-proof contruction). Harborage areas available for rodents, insects and other vermin
- Not Critical Violation
- 11B: Wiping cloths dirty, not stored properly in sanitizing solutions
- Not Critical Violation
- 11D: Non food contact surfaces of equipment not clean
- Not Critical Violation
- 14B: Effective measures not used to control entrance (rodent-, insect-proof contruction). Harborage areas available for rodents, insects and other vermin
- Inspection
0 infractions
- Re-Inspection
1 infraction
- 2E: Accurate thermometers not available or used to evaluate potentially hazardous food temperatures during cooking, cooling, reheating and holding.
- Critical Violation
- 2E: Accurate thermometers not available or used to evaluate potentially hazardous food temperatures during cooking, cooling, reheating and holding.
- Inspection
6 infractions
- 5C: Potentially hazardous foods are not stored under refrigeration except during necessary preparation or approved precooling procedures (room temperature storage).
- Critical Violation
- 2E: Accurate thermometers not available or used to evaluate potentially hazardous food temperatures during cooking, cooling, reheating and holding.
- Critical Violation
- 2C: Cooked or prepared foods are subject to cross-contamination from raw foods.
- Critical Violation
- 11B: Wiping cloths dirty, not stored properly in sanitizing solutions
- Not Critical Violation
- 2B: Food workers prepare raw and cooked or ready to eat food products without 'thorough handwashing and sanitary glove changing in between.
- Critical Violation
- 9B: Tobacco is used; eating, drinking in food preparation, dishwashing food storage areas
- Not Critical Violation
- 5C: Potentially hazardous foods are not stored under refrigeration except during necessary preparation or approved precooling procedures (room temperature storage).
- Re-Inspection
0 infractions
- Inspection
5 infractions
- 12E: Handwashing facilities inaccessible, improperly located, dirty, in disrepair, improper fixtures, soap, and single service towels or hand drying devices missing
- Not Critical Violation
- 8F: Improper thawing procedures used
- Not Critical Violation
- 11C: Food contact surfaces not washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any time of operations when contamination may have occurred
- Not Critical Violation
- 2E: Accurate thermometers not available or used to evaluate potentially hazardous food temperatures during cooking, cooling, reheating and holding.
- Critical Violation
- 12C: Plumbing and sinks not properly sized, installed, maintained; equipment and floors not properly drained
- Not Critical Violation
- 12E: Handwashing facilities inaccessible, improperly located, dirty, in disrepair, improper fixtures, soap, and single service towels or hand drying devices missing
- Re-Inspection
0 infractions
- Inspection
4 infractions
- 9B: Tobacco is used; eating, drinking in food preparation, dishwashing food storage areas
- Not Critical Violation
- 5A: Potentially hazardous foods are not kept at or below 45�F during cold holding, except smoked fish not kept at or below 38�F during cold holding.
- Critical Violation
- 11B: Wiping cloths dirty, not stored properly in sanitizing solutions
- Not Critical Violation
- 11C: Food contact surfaces not washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any time of operations when contamination may have occurred
- Not Critical Violation
- 9B: Tobacco is used; eating, drinking in food preparation, dishwashing food storage areas
- Re-Inspection
0 infractions
- Inspection
3 infractions
- 5A: Potentially hazardous foods are not kept at or below 45�F during cold holding, except smoked fish not kept at or below 38�F during cold holding.
- Critical Violation
- 8B: In use food dispensing utensils improperly stored
- Not Critical Violation
- 3C: Food workers do not use proper utensils to eliminate bare hand contact with cooked or prepared foods.
- Critical Violation
- 5A: Potentially hazardous foods are not kept at or below 45�F during cold holding, except smoked fish not kept at or below 38�F during cold holding.
- Re-Inspection
0 infractions
- Inspection
3 infractions
- 5C: Potentially hazardous foods are not stored under refrigeration except during necessary preparation or approved precooling procedures (room temperature storage).
- Critical Violation
- 11D: Non food contact surfaces of equipment not clean
- Not Critical Violation
- 10B: Non-food contact surfaces and equipment are improperly designed, constructed, installed, maintained (equipment not readily accessible for cleaning, surface not smooth finish)
- Not Critical Violation
- 5C: Potentially hazardous foods are not stored under refrigeration except during necessary preparation or approved precooling procedures (room temperature storage).
- Inspection
0 infractions
- Re-Inspection
0 infractions
- Inspection
3 infractions
- 2C: Cooked or prepared foods are subject to cross-contamination from raw foods.
- Critical Violation
- 8A: Food not protected during storage, preparation, display, transportation and service, from potential sources of contamination (e.g., food uncovered, mislabeled, stored on floor, missing or inadequate sneeze guards, food containers double stacked)
- Not Critical Violation
- 5C: Potentially hazardous foods are not stored under refrigeration except during necessary preparation or approved precooling procedures (room temperature storage).
- Critical Violation
- 2C: Cooked or prepared foods are subject to cross-contamination from raw foods.
- Inspection
0 infractions
- Inspection
1 infraction
- 12D: Toilet facilities inadequate, inconvenient, dirty, in disrepair, toilet paper missing, not self-closing doors, missing hand wash signs
- Not Critical Violation
- 12D: Toilet facilities inadequate, inconvenient, dirty, in disrepair, toilet paper missing, not self-closing doors, missing hand wash signs
- Inspection
1 infraction
- 8D: Single service items reused, improperly stored, dispensed, not used when required
- Not Critical Violation
- 8D: Single service items reused, improperly stored, dispensed, not used when required
- Re-Inspection
0 infractions
- Inspection
3 infractions
- 8F: Improper thawing procedures used
- Not Critical Violation
- 10B: Non-food contact surfaces and equipment are improperly designed, constructed, installed, maintained (equipment not readily accessible for cleaning, surface not smooth finish)
- Not Critical Violation
- 5C: Potentially hazardous foods are not stored under refrigeration except during necessary preparation or approved precooling procedures (room temperature storage).
- Critical Violation
- 8F: Improper thawing procedures used
Nearby inspected facilities
- OLD MEXICO EXPRESS
111A DRYDEN ROAD, ITHACA, NY 14850
6 inspections
- XI AN STREET FOOD
120 DRYDEN ROAD, ITHACA, NY 14850
2 inspections
- SOPOONG
147 DRYDEN ROAD, ITHACA, NY 14850
22 inspections
- NINJA CHICKEN INC.
114 DRYDEN ROAD, ITHACA, NY 14850
6 inspections
- QAHWA HOUSE
139 DRDYEN ROAD, ITHACA, NY 14850
2 inspections
- KUNG FU TEA - COLLEGETOWN
143 DRYDEN ROAD, ITHACA, NY 14850
11 inspections
- POKELAVA - DRYDEN ROAD
159 DRYDEN ROAD, ITHACA, NY 14850
1 inspection
- WINGS OVER ITHACA
121 DRYDEN ROAD, ITHACA, NY 14850
13 inspections