MIAMI, FL. State inspectors visiting Islas Canarias Grill & Bakery at 3804 SW 137th Ave on September 25, 2026 documented food from unapproved or unknown sources inside the kitchen, a violation that means some of what customers were eating had never passed through a USDA or FDA inspection point. The restaurant was not closed.
That single finding was one of six high-severity violations inspectors recorded that day. The facility remained open to the public after the inspection concluded.
What Inspectors Found
The unapproved food source violation was not the only high-severity finding. Inspectors also cited an employee for failing to report symptoms of illness, a violation that state records classify as a direct outbreak enabler. Norovirus and other pathogens spread through food workers who continue handling food while symptomatic.
Inspectors documented improper handwashing technique as a separate high-severity violation. That citation means an employee made an attempt to wash hands but did so incorrectly, leaving pathogens on skin that then contacted food or surfaces.
Food contact surfaces were not properly cleaned or sanitized. Toxic chemicals were improperly stored or labeled near food. The menu offered items that required a consumer advisory for raw or undercooked food, and no such advisory was posted.
Three intermediate violations rounded out the inspection: multi-use utensils not properly cleaned, single-use items being reused, and inadequate ventilation and lighting in the facility.
What These Violations Mean
The food from unapproved sources violation carries a specific danger that goes beyond the food itself. When an ingredient enters a kitchen without passing through a licensed, inspected supply chain, there is no record of where it came from. If a customer gets sick, investigators have no chain of custody to trace. Listeria, Salmonella, and E. coli have all been linked to uninspected food sources.
The employee illness reporting failure compounds that risk. A worker who does not report symptoms of vomiting, diarrhea, or jaundice can contaminate every surface and every plate they touch during a shift. Combined with the improper handwashing technique violation documented at the same inspection, the pathway from a sick employee to a sick customer is direct and short.
Improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, the fourth high-severity violation, close that loop. Cutting boards, prep tables, and slicing equipment that carry bacterial residue from one food item to the next are among the most common vehicles for cross-contamination in commercial kitchens.
The toxic chemicals finding adds a separate and acute risk. Chemicals stored near or above food, or stored in unlabeled containers, can enter food through spills, drips, or misidentification. That is not a slow-building health risk. It is an immediate one.
The Longer Record
The September 25 inspection was not an aberration. State records show Islas Canarias Grill & Bakery has been inspected 27 times and has accumulated 300 total violations across that history. The facility has never been emergency-closed.
The most severe prior inspection on record came on September 24, 2024, one day before the one-year mark preceding this inspection, when inspectors documented 14 high-severity violations and 4 intermediate violations in a single visit. That inspection was followed the next day by a return visit that still produced 3 high-severity violations. The facility was not closed after either.
High-severity violations have appeared in every inspection on record going back to at least 2023. The January 2025 inspection produced 4 high violations. The July 2025 inspection produced 3. The February 2026 inspection produced 3. Each of those inspections also included intermediate violations.
The pattern across eight documented prior inspections is consistent: multiple high-severity violations per visit, no emergency closure, and a return of similar violations at the next inspection. The September 2026 visit, with its six high-severity citations, is the second-worst single-inspection total in the recent record, behind only the 14-violation visit in September 2024.
Still Open
Florida's emergency closure authority is triggered when an inspector determines that conditions pose an immediate threat to public health. Six high-severity violations, including food from an unknown source, an employee not reporting illness symptoms, and toxic chemicals improperly stored near food, did not meet that threshold on September 25, 2026.
Islas Canarias Grill & Bakery remained open after the inspection.
