FLORIDA. A Burger King at 2728 N Pine St in Ocala drew eight high-severity violations in the most recent inspection period, including improperly stored toxic chemicals, food contact surfaces that were not properly cleaned or sanitized, and no person in charge present or performing duties at the time of the inspection.
That location also drew citations for an employee failing to report illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, and two separate chemical storage violations covering both labeling and use. Inspectors also cited the restaurant for inadequate shellfish traceability records and no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked foods, violations that together suggest a kitchen operating without basic safety controls in place.
The Ocala location was not alone. State inspection records from February 4 through May 4, 2026 show nine additional Burger King restaurants across Florida accumulating high-severity violations, with patterns that repeat from Bonifay to Jacksonville to Port Orange.
The Violations Across Florida
The Burger King at 2024 S Waukesha St in Bonifay was cited for food in poor condition, mislabeled, or adulterated, alongside improperly stored toxic chemicals and no allergen awareness demonstrated by staff. Inspectors also noted inadequate shellfish records and no consumer advisory, matching the Ocala location on two of those same high-priority categories.
At Burger King #1571 on US Highway 19 North in Holiday, inspectors cited a failure to follow parasite destruction procedures, a violation that applies when fish or other parasite-risk proteins are served without proper freezing or cooking documentation. That location also drew citations for an employee failing to report illness symptoms, improper handwashing, and improperly stored chemicals.
The Burger King #23139 at 813 S Walnut St in Starke added a citation that none of the other nine locations received: improper sewage or wastewater disposal. That location also had no person in charge present, an employee not reporting illness symptoms, inadequate handwashing facilities, and two separate toxic substance violations.
In Port Orange, the Burger King at 3811 Nova Rd was cited for food not cooked to the required minimum temperature, a violation with a direct line to pathogen survival. That location also had no manager on duty, an employee not reporting illness, improper handwashing, unsanitized food contact surfaces, and improperly stored chemicals.
The Burger King at 6757 Dunn Ave in Jacksonville drew five high-severity citations, including shellfish traceability failures and no consumer advisory. The Clermont location at 780 E Hwy 50 accumulated five high-severity and five intermediate violations, the highest combined intermediate count among the ten, with improper sewage disposal, improperly reused single-use items, and uncleaned multi-use utensils all cited in the same inspection.
At Burger King 3363 on Park Blvd in Pinellas Park, inspectors cited food from an unapproved or unknown source, a violation that means product entering that kitchen bypassed USDA or FDA inspection entirely. That same visit also documented a failure to follow parasite destruction procedures.
The Burger King at 5624 Vineland Rd in Orlando and the Burger King at 1620 S 6th St in Macclenny each drew four high-severity violations, with both citing inadequate food contact surface sanitation, no consumer advisory, and toxic substance violations.
What These Violations Mean
The single most frequently cited high-severity violation across these ten locations was improperly stored or labeled toxic chemicals, appearing at eight of the ten restaurants. At a fast-food kitchen, cleaning chemicals, sanitizers, and pesticides are stored alongside food prep areas. When those substances are mislabeled or placed near food contact surfaces, a single mistake by an employee can introduce a chemical contaminant directly into a burger wrapper or onto a prep surface. The citations at Ocala, Bonifay, Holiday, Starke, Port Orange, Jacksonville, Clermont, and Macclenny all reflect that same failure.
No consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods was cited at seven locations. For a burger chain, this matters specifically because ground beef served below 160 degrees Fahrenheit can carry E. coli O157:H7, a strain capable of causing kidney failure. A consumer advisory does not prevent illness, but it gives customers with compromised immune systems, elderly diners, pregnant women, and young children information they need to make a safer choice. Seven Burger King locations in this inspection window were not providing it.
The failure to report illness symptoms, cited at Ocala, Holiday, Starke, Port Orange, and Jacksonville, carries a different kind of risk. Norovirus spreads through the fecal-oral route and can be transmitted by a single infected food worker handling unwrapped food. An employee who comes to work symptomatic and is not required to disclose that condition can expose dozens or hundreds of customers in a single shift before anyone knows there is a problem.
At the Starke location, improper sewage or wastewater disposal adds a layer of contamination risk that goes beyond individual employee behavior. Raw sewage contains E. coli, Hepatitis A, and Salmonella. When disposal is inadequate, fecal matter can reach food prep surfaces through splash, tracked water, or airborne droplets, and the Starke location also lacked adequate handwashing facilities to interrupt that transmission route.
The Longer Record
Statewide, Florida's 429 Burger King locations have accumulated 7,028 inspections on record, averaging 4.30 violations per inspection with an 87.41 percent pass rate. That pass rate means roughly one in eight inspections across the chain results in a failing outcome, and the ten locations flagged here represent the concentrated end of that distribution.
The chain has not recorded an emergency closure in Florida this year. But the absence of a closure does not mean inspections at the worst-performing locations have been uneventful. The Ocala location's eight high-severity violations in a single inspection period, including two separate toxic substance citations and no manager present, describes a kitchen where multiple foundational controls failed at the same time.
The Clermont location's combination of five high-severity and five intermediate violations, including sewage disposal problems and reused single-use items, points to operational breakdowns across multiple categories simultaneously. Intermediate violations on their own indicate a gap in training or procedure. When they stack on top of five high-severity citations, they suggest the problems are not isolated to one station or one employee.
The Pinellas Park location's citation for food from an unapproved source stands apart from the others. Every other high-severity violation in this dataset involves how food is handled inside the restaurant. Food from an unapproved source means the supply chain itself is the problem, and if a customer gets sick from that product, there is no tag, no lot number, and no approved distributor record to trace it back.