The Casper‑Natrona County Health Department published its most recent round of health and food safety inspections covering restaurants, grocery stores, convenience stores, mobile food units, commissaries and vending operations for the week of September 11‑17, 2026. Each facility receives at least two unannounced inspections per year, and violations are classified as priority, priority foundation, or core.

Inspection approach and corrective process

Program manager for Environmental Health in Natrona County emphasized that there is no sliding scale or pass/fail system. Every identified violation must be corrected either immediately or within ten days, ensuring that a cited issue does not render a business unsafe. When a re‑inspection is required, it indicates a more serious deficiency or the need for additional time to remediate.

Key findings

• Meals on Wheels: One violation – soiled dicer and tongs; no re‑inspection needed.
• Bright Minds Childcare and Learning Center: Two violations – cleaning chemicals accessible to children and deteriorating back‑door seals; no re‑inspection needed.
• Ridleys Family Market (Wyoming Blvd): Seven violations – missing hand‑soap, improper sanitizing solution concentration, multiple soiled food‑contact surfaces, inadequate refrigeration temperatures, employees without proper hair restraints, equipment gasket failures, and lack of a functional test kit; re‑inspection required.
• Bright Minds Infant Center and Salt Creek Recreation Center: No violations reported.
• Smith’s Food and Drug: Five violations – inadequate shellfish record‑keeping, improper raw meat cold holding, expired baby formula, employees wearing jewelry and watches, and sanitation issues in the deli area; re‑inspection required.
• Big D Oil #19: Two violations – no certified food protection manager and improper hot‑holding temperature in a Vulcan 1 Door unit; no re‑inspection needed.
• Midwest School and Midwest School Pool Concessions: No violations.
• PJ Schooner: Two violations – no certified food protection manager and lack of written procedure for vomiting or diarrheal events; no re‑inspection needed.
• The Chow Haul: One violation – no certified food protection manager; no re‑inspection needed.
• Mongolian Grill: Two violations – soiled knives, peelers, and microwave cavity; no re‑inspection needed.
• Wyoming Ale Works: Four violations – soiled blades, knives, can openers, dicer, improper storage of personal items, inconsistent grill drawer temperature, and unlabeled food containers; no re‑inspection needed.
• Jersey Mike’s: Five violations – soiled slicer, improper cold holding of sliced items, improperly labeled chemicals, inadequate entree prep temperature, and wet stacked pans after cleaning; no re‑inspection needed.
• Charrito’s Mexican Restaurant: Four violations – raw produce stored with ready‑to‑eat food, soiled knives and pans, wet stacked pans, and expired sanitizing test kit; re‑inspection required.
• Red Lobster #6374: Two violations – employees wearing jewelry and watches while preparing food, and lack of temperature‑measuring device in manual warewashing area; no re‑inspection needed.
• Summit Medical Center: Two violations – cabinets with grime and food debris, and kitchen walls/area behind countertop needing cleaning; no re‑inspection needed.

Agency focus on education

The health department stresses that its primary goal is to educate businesses about unsafe practices and how to correct them, rather than simply penalize. By requiring prompt remediation and offering guidance, the agency aims to keep Casper’s food establishments safe for families and the broader community.

Access to full reports

Complete inspection reports for each facility are available on the Natrona County Health Department’s website, providing transparency for residents who wish to review detailed findings.

Original reporting: Oil City News (Casper WY) — read the source article.