FLORIDA. Inspectors visiting the Dunkin' at 9361 Atlantic Blvd in Jacksonville documented nine high-severity violations in a single inspection, including food sourced from an unapproved or unknown supplier, two separate handwashing failures, and food contact surfaces that had not been properly cleaned or sanitized. That location ranked as the worst-performing Dunkin' in Florida during the 90-day window ending August 6, 2026.
The Atlantic Boulevard location also drew citations for inadequate shell stock identification records, parasite destruction procedures not followed, and improper use of time as a public health control. Nine high-severity violations in one visit places it well above the chain's statewide average of 4.23 violations per inspection.
The Violations
The Dunkin' Donuts at 3910 SW College Rd in Ocala accumulated seven high-severity violations, including an employee not reporting symptoms of illness, food not cooked to the required minimum temperature, no allergen awareness demonstrated, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods. Inspectors also cited improper sewage or wastewater disposal at that location.
Dunkin' Donuts #90 at 1814 Campbell Dr in Homestead matched Ocala's seven high-severity violations. Among the most serious: toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled, toxic substances improperly identified or stored, improper use of time as a public health control, and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized. Inspectors also noted multi-use utensils not properly cleaned.
The Dunkin' Donuts at 898 NE Palm Bay Rd in Palm Bay drew six high-severity violations, including no person in charge present or performing duties, an employee not reporting illness symptoms, toxic chemicals improperly stored, and no allergen awareness demonstrated. That location also received intermediate citations for inadequate ventilation and lighting, and improper waste disposal.
The Dunkin' Donuts at 3551 Dovera Drive in Oviedo was cited for food in poor condition, mislabeled, or adulterated, alongside parasite destruction procedures not followed, improper handwashing technique, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, and toxic chemicals improperly stored. Intermediate violations included inadequate cooling and cold holding equipment.
At the Dunkin' Donuts at 842-1 Dunn Ave in Jacksonville, inspectors cited food from an unapproved or unknown source, time as a public health control not properly used, toxic chemicals improperly stored, and toxic substances improperly identified or stored. That location also drew intermediate violations for single-use items being improperly reused and improper use of wiping cloths.
Two Jacksonville Dunkin' locations appearing on the worst-performers list in the same 90-day window is notable. The Atlantic Boulevard location and the Dunn Avenue location are less than nine miles apart.
The Dunkin' Donuts/Baskin Robbins at 10608 New East Bay Road in Gibsonton was cited for no employee health policy, improper handwashing technique, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, toxic substances improperly stored, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and inadequate shell stock identification records. Inspectors also documented improper sewage or wastewater disposal and multi-use utensils not properly cleaned.
The Dunkin' Donuts at 4115 E Colonial Dr in Orlando drew three high-severity violations: no employee health policy, toxic chemicals improperly stored, and toxic substances improperly identified or stored. The Dunkin' PC#310284 at 7823 W Sunrise Blvd in Plantation received two high-severity citations, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned and food not cooked to the required minimum temperature.
The Dunkin' Donuts at 5227 Ehrlich Rd in Tampa drew four high-severity violations, including no person in charge present, an employee not reporting illness symptoms, food not cooked to the required minimum temperature, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
What These Violations Mean
The single most repeated high-severity violation across these locations is improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, cited at Jacksonville's Atlantic Boulevard and Dunn Avenue locations, Ocala, Homestead, Palm Bay, Oviedo, and Gibsonton. Every surface that touches food and is not properly sanitized becomes a transfer point for bacteria. At a counter-service chain where the same equipment handles dozens of sandwiches and drinks per hour, a contaminated prep surface does not affect one customer.
Two violations tied directly to sick employees appeared repeatedly. The Ocala, Palm Bay, and Tampa locations were all cited for employees not reporting illness symptoms. The Jacksonville Atlantic Boulevard location and the Gibsonton and Orlando locations were cited for having no written employee health policy at all. Those two violations work together: without a policy, workers have no formal instruction about when to stay home, and without reporting, a symptomatic worker stays on the line. Norovirus, which spreads through exactly this pathway, causes an estimated 20 million illnesses in the United States each year.
Food from unapproved or unknown sources, documented at the Atlantic Boulevard and Dunn Avenue Jacksonville locations, is a traceability problem. If a customer becomes sick, investigators need to trace the food back through a documented supply chain. Food that entered a facility outside that chain cannot be traced. The same logic applies to inadequate shell stock identification records, cited at seven of the ten locations. Shellfish consumed raw or lightly cooked carry elevated risk of Vibrio and norovirus contamination, and the tagging system exists specifically to allow traceback when illness clusters emerge.
Toxic chemicals improperly stored appeared at Homestead, Palm Bay, Oviedo, Jacksonville's Dunn Avenue location, and Orlando. Improper chemical storage near food or food-contact surfaces is not a paperwork violation. Mislabeled or misplaced cleaning compounds have caused acute poisoning in food service settings, and the risk is direct.
The Longer Record
Florida's Dunkin' network has generated 11,286 inspection records across 776 locations, a volume that reflects the chain's footprint as one of the most inspected food service brands in the state. The statewide pass rate of 92.27 percent means roughly one in thirteen inspections results in a failure. Five emergency closures have been recorded this year.
The data does not include per-location prior inspection counts in this dataset, but the statewide inspection volume of 11,286 records across 776 locations averages to roughly 14.5 inspections per location. Locations accumulating high-severity violations across multiple categories in a single visit, as the Atlantic Boulevard Jacksonville location did with nine, represent outliers even within a chain that averages 4.23 violations per inspection statewide.
The breadth of this 90-day window is the more significant finding. Ten locations spread across Jacksonville, Ocala, Tampa, Homestead, Gibsonton, Palm Bay, Oviedo, Jacksonville again, Orlando, and Plantation all drew high-severity violations within the same period. That is not a cluster tied to one franchise owner or one region. It is a statewide pattern.
The Longer Pattern
Several violation types recurred across locations that have no geographic connection to each other. Inadequate shell stock identification records appeared at seven of the ten worst-performing locations, including Jacksonville's Atlantic Boulevard, Ocala, Homestead, Palm Bay, Oviedo, Jacksonville's Dunn Avenue, and Gibsonton. For a chain that is not primarily a seafood operation, that number is striking. It suggests the violation is systemic, not situational.
Improperly cleaned food contact surfaces appeared at seven locations as well. No consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods was cited at Ocala, Homestead, Tampa, and Gibsonton. Toxic chemical storage violations appeared at five locations in four different cities.
The Jacksonville Atlantic Boulevard location's citation for food from an unapproved or unknown source remains the most unresolved finding in this dataset. That violation was documented. What the source was, and whether it was corrected before the food reached customers, the inspection record does not say.
