FLORIDA. State inspectors cited ten Burger King locations across Florida for high-severity violations between February 5 and May 5, 2026, with the worst single inspection turning up eight high-priority findings at one Ocala restaurant, including toxic chemicals improperly stored near food, employees not reporting illness symptoms, and no person in charge present or performing duties.
The Worst of the Ten
The Burger King on N Pine Street in Ocala led all Florida locations in high-severity violations during the review period. Inspectors documented eight high-priority citations in a single visit, a count that places it well above the statewide Burger King average of 4.30 violations per inspection.
The Ocala findings included improper hand and arm washing technique, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, and two separate toxic substance violations — chemicals improperly stored or labeled, and toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used. Inspectors also cited the restaurant for inadequate shell stock identification records and no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked foods.
Four locations in this group were cited for having no person in charge present or performing duties: Ocala, Port Orange, Starke, and Miami. That violation alone is a red flag inspectors treat as a predictor of broader compliance failures.
What Inspectors Found Across the State
The Burger King on Nova Road in Port Orange drew six high-severity citations, including one that the Ocala location did not share: food not cooked to required minimum temperature. Undercooked food is among the most direct pathways for bacterial illness, and at a burger chain, the risk centers on ground beef and poultry.
The Burger King #1571 on US Highway 19 North in Holiday was also cited for six high-severity violations, including parasite destruction procedures not followed. That citation, combined with inadequate shell stock records and no consumer advisory, points to handling of fish or shellfish items without the required protocols in place.
The Burger King #23139 on S Walnut Street in Starke accumulated six high-severity and four intermediate violations, the highest combined intermediate count in the group. Among the intermediate findings: improper sewage or wastewater disposal and single-use items being reused. The sewage citation is one inspectors treat as an immediate contamination risk.
The Burger King on S Waukesha Street in Bonifay was cited for food in poor condition, mislabeled, or adulterated, in addition to five other high-severity findings. That location was also flagged for no allergen awareness demonstrated, a citation that carries direct risk for the 32 million Americans with food allergies.
The Burger King on East Highway 50 in Clermont had five high-severity and five intermediate violations, the highest combined total in the group alongside Starke. Clermont's intermediate findings included improper sewage or wastewater disposal, multi-use utensils not properly cleaned, and single-use items improperly reused.
The Burger King 27401 on Dunn Avenue in Jacksonville was cited for five high-severity violations, including employees not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, and inadequate shell stock identification records.
The Burger King #6872 on Old Cutler Road in Miami drew four high-severity violations, including no person in charge and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized.
The Burger King on N State Road 19 in Eustis was cited for food in poor condition and inadequate cooling equipment, a combination that inspectors flag as a compounding risk: food already compromised, stored in equipment that cannot maintain safe temperatures.
The Burger King #23620 on N US Highway 41 in Apollo Beach rounded out the list with four high-severity violations, including parasite destruction procedures not followed and toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used.
What These Violations Mean
The single most common high-severity violation across these ten locations was toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled, appearing at eight of the ten restaurants. When cleaning chemicals are stored near or above food preparation areas without proper labeling, the contamination pathway is direct: a mislabeled bottle used in food prep, or a chemical spilled onto a surface where food is handled, can cause acute poisoning. At a fast-food operation moving hundreds of customers per day, the exposure window is wide.
Employee illness reporting failures were cited at six locations, including Ocala, Port Orange, Holiday, Starke, Jacksonville, and Miami. Food workers who do not report symptoms of illness, or who are not required to by active management, are the primary route through which norovirus and similar pathogens enter a food supply. An infected employee who handles food before symptoms are recognized can expose dozens of customers in a single shift.
The no consumer advisory violation appeared at seven of the ten locations: Ocala, Holiday, Starke, Bonifay, Clermont, Jacksonville, Eustis, and Apollo Beach. At a chain that serves fish items and items that can be prepared to varying temperatures, the absence of a posted advisory removes the only warning vulnerable customers, including pregnant women, the elderly, and people with compromised immune systems, would have before ordering.
Inadequate shell stock identification records appeared at four locations: Ocala, Holiday, Jacksonville, and Bonifay. This citation means that if a customer becomes ill from shellfish, inspectors have no paper trail to trace the product back to its source. Traceability is the entire mechanism by which regulators identify and pull contaminated shellfish from the market during an outbreak.
The Longer Record
Burger King's Florida footprint is large: 429 locations, 7,032 inspections on record. The chain's statewide pass rate of 87.41 percent means that roughly one in eight inspections results in a failed outcome. Across nearly 7,000 inspections, that translates to hundreds of failed visits accumulated over time, and the ten locations flagged in this 90-day window sit at the more serious end of that distribution.
The statewide average of 4.30 violations per inspection gives a baseline for comparison. The Ocala location's eight high-severity violations in a single visit is nearly double that average, and every violation in that inspection was high-priority, with no dilution from minor or basic-level findings. The Starke and Clermont locations each accumulated ten total violations when high-severity and intermediate counts are combined, also well above the chain average.
The pattern that repeats across multiple locations, particularly the clustering of toxic chemical storage failures, illness reporting gaps, and absent consumer advisories, suggests these are not isolated incidents at individual restaurants. Seven of ten locations shared the consumer advisory violation. Eight of ten shared the toxic chemical citation. That kind of repetition across geographically distant locations, from Bonifay in the Panhandle to Miami in the south, points to a systemic gap in compliance training or enforcement at the franchise level.
What the record does not show, for any of these ten locations, is an emergency closure. The chain recorded zero emergency closures statewide during the review period. All ten restaurants cited here remained open through their inspections, serving customers while the violations stood documented in state records.