MIAMI, FL. Inspectors visiting TAP 42 at 3252 NE 1st Ave on September 9, 2026 found food coming from unapproved or unknown sources, a violation that means some ingredients on the menu had bypassed federal safety inspections entirely before reaching customers' plates.
That was one of six high-severity violations documented in a single visit. The restaurant was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The food sourcing violation stands out. When ingredients arrive from unapproved or unknown suppliers, they have not been verified by USDA or FDA inspection programs. If a contamination event occurs, there is no supply chain record to trace. Customers and health officials would have no way of knowing where the food came from or who else received it.
Inspectors also cited the restaurant for food not cooked to the required minimum temperature. Undercooked poultry can harbor Salmonella, which survives below 165 degrees Fahrenheit and causes illness that sends thousands of Americans to emergency rooms each year.
The allergen violation adds a separate layer of risk. No allergen awareness was demonstrated during the inspection. Food allergies affect an estimated 32 million Americans, and allergic reactions send roughly 30,000 people to emergency rooms annually. A kitchen that cannot identify allergen risks in its own dishes is a kitchen that cannot warn a customer with a life-threatening allergy before it is too late.
Improper handwashing technique was also cited. This violation is distinct from failing to wash hands at all. It means employees were going through the motion of handwashing but not effectively removing pathogens, leaving contamination on their hands before handling food or utensils.
The remaining high-severity violation involved time as a public health control. When a kitchen uses time rather than temperature to keep food safe, it operates under strict rules about how long food can sit in the temperature danger zone between 41 and 135 degrees Fahrenheit. Those rules were not being followed.
Three intermediate violations accompanied the six high-severity findings: improper sewage or wastewater disposal, multi-use utensils not properly cleaned, and inadequate ventilation and lighting.
What These Violations Mean
The combination of unapproved food sourcing and improper cooking temperatures is particularly serious. Each violation on its own creates a pathway for illness. Together, they describe a kitchen where ingredients of uncertain origin are also not being cooked to the temperatures that would kill the pathogens those ingredients might carry.
The sewage violation compounds the picture. Improper wastewater disposal creates the possibility of fecal contamination spreading through a facility. Raw sewage contains E. coli, Hepatitis A, and norovirus, among other pathogens. In a kitchen already cited for surface sanitation failures and improperly cleaned utensils, sewage exposure is not an abstract concern.
Improperly cleaned multi-use utensils develop bacterial biofilms within 24 hours. Those biofilms are resistant to standard cleaning and can transfer bacteria directly to food during preparation. Paired with food contact surfaces that were also cited as improperly cleaned, the September 9 inspection describes a facility with systemic sanitation failures across multiple points of food contact.
The Longer Record
The September 9 inspection was not a one-time lapse. State records show TAP 42 has been inspected 26 times and has accumulated 194 total violations across that history.
High-severity violations have appeared in nearly every recent inspection. In April 2023, inspectors documented seven high-severity violations in a single visit. In May 2024, there were five. In February 2025, five more. In March 2026, a two-day inspection stretch produced five high-severity violations on March 26, followed by two more the next day.
The September 9 inspection, with six high-severity violations, is the highest single-visit count in the past year, and matches the pattern of the facility's worst prior visits.
The facility has never been emergency-closed in its inspection history. That is a fact the record contains.
Open for Business
State inspectors documented six high-severity violations at TAP 42 on September 9, 2026. Food from unapproved sources. Undercooked food. No allergen awareness. Improper handwashing. Time controls not followed. Surfaces not properly sanitized. Three intermediate violations on top of those.
The restaurant was not closed.
