FLORIDA. The Dunkin' at 9361 Atlantic Blvd. in Jacksonville drew nine high-severity violations in a single inspection this summer, the worst single-location count among Florida's 776 Dunkin' stores reviewed between May 10 and August 7, 2026. Inspectors cited the location for food from an unapproved or unknown source, failure to follow parasite destruction procedures, no written employee health policy, and food contact surfaces that were not properly cleaned or sanitized, among others.
That is not a minor cluster of paperwork problems. It is a list that touches nearly every pathway by which foodborne illness reaches a customer.
What Inspectors Found
The Atlantic Boulevard location's nine high-severity violations included two that inspectors almost never expect to find at a national chain: food from an unapproved or unknown source, and parasite destruction procedures not followed. Both indicate that food entering the store may not have passed through the standard federal inspection and traceability system.
Also cited at that location: inadequate handwashing by food employees, improper hand and arm washing technique, inadequate shell stock identification records, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, time as a public health control not properly used, and no written employee health policy. That last violation means there was no documented system to keep sick workers out of food preparation.
The second Jacksonville location, Dunkin' Donuts at 842-1 Dunn Ave., also drew six high-severity violations, including food from an unapproved source, improper hand washing technique, improperly stored or labeled toxic chemicals, and toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used. Inspectors also noted single-use items being improperly reused and wiping cloths used improperly.
Jacksonville accounted for two of the ten worst-performing locations in the state during this period.
The Dunkin' Donuts #90 at 1814 Campbell Dr. in Homestead drew seven high-severity violations, including two involving toxic substances: improperly stored or labeled chemicals and toxic substances improperly identified or used. Inspectors also cited the location for food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, improper handwashing technique, inadequate shell stock records, time as a public health control not properly used, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
The Dunkin' Donuts at 3910 SW College Rd. in Ocala matched Homestead's seven high-severity count and added four intermediate violations, including one for improper sewage or wastewater disposal. The high-severity list at that location included an employee not reporting symptoms of illness, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, no allergen awareness demonstrated, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
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, and improperly stored or labeled toxic chemicals. Inspectors also cited that location for no allergen awareness demonstrated.
The Dunkin' Donuts at 3551 Dovera Dr. in Oviedo was cited for food in poor condition, mislabeled, or adulterated, alongside parasite destruction failures and improperly stored toxic chemicals. Intermediate violations there included inadequate cooling and cold holding equipment, which means the hardware itself could not maintain safe temperatures.
The Dunkin'/Baskin location at 6101 Gulf Blvd. in St. Pete Beach drew six high-severity violations, including food not cooked to required minimum temperature, time as a public health control not properly used, and an employee not reporting illness symptoms.
The Dunkin' Donuts/Baskin Robbins at 10608 New East Bay Rd. in Gibsonton was cited for no employee health policy, improper handwashing technique, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, no consumer advisory, and toxic substances improperly identified or used. Intermediate violations included improper sewage or wastewater disposal.
What These Violations Mean
The most common high-severity violation across these ten locations was food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, cited at seven of the ten stores. Cutting boards, prep counters, and equipment that touch food directly carry bacteria from one item to the next when they are not properly cleaned between uses. At a coffee and baked goods chain, those surfaces include the equipment used to handle sandwiches, dairy products, and pastries that go directly to customers without further cooking.
Improper handwashing, cited in multiple forms at the Atlantic Boulevard Jacksonville location and several others, is the single most direct route from a food worker to a customer. Inspectors cited not just the absence of handwashing, but incorrect technique, meaning workers who did wash their hands were not doing so in a way that removes pathogens.
At the Ocala location, the combination of an employee not reporting illness symptoms, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, and no consumer advisory creates a compounding risk. An ill worker handling food that is then undercooked, with no advisory warning customers, removes every layer of protection between contamination and the person eating.
The toxic chemical violations at Homestead, Palm Bay, Oviedo, St. Pete Beach, and the Dunn Avenue Jacksonville location are a separate category of concern. Improperly stored or unlabeled cleaning chemicals stored near food or food contact surfaces can contaminate food directly, and mislabeled containers create the risk of accidental use of the wrong substance.
The Longer Record
Across all 776 Florida Dunkin' locations, state records show 11,286 inspections on file. That is an average of roughly 14 inspections per location, which reflects years of accumulated visits. The chain's statewide pass rate of 92.27 percent means that roughly 1 in 13 inspections results in a failure, and the average inspection produces 4.23 violations.
Five emergency closures have been recorded at Florida Dunkin' locations this year. Emergency closures require an inspector to find an immediate threat to public health serious enough to shut the facility on the spot, which means those five closures represent conditions that inspectors judged too dangerous to allow to continue operating even for a day.
The Ocala location on SW College Road drew 11 total violations in this inspection period, including an intermediate citation for improper sewage or wastewater disposal. Sewage violations at a food service facility mean inspectors identified a pathway for fecal contamination to spread through the building, and that is among the most serious infrastructure failures a location can receive.
The Gibsonton location's combination of no employee health policy and improper sewage disposal represents failures at both the personnel and physical plant level. Neither violation is incidental.
The Pattern
Several violation types recurred so consistently across these locations that they describe a chain-wide compliance gap rather than isolated incidents. Inadequate shell stock identification records appeared at seven of the ten worst-performing locations, including Jacksonville's Atlantic Boulevard store, Homestead, Ocala, Palm Bay, St. Pete Beach, Gibsonton, and Oviedo. Shell stock records exist so health officials can trace shellfish back to their harvest source if customers get sick. Their absence at a coffee and donut chain is unexpected, but their absence at seven locations in a single 90-day window is a pattern.
No consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods was cited at Homestead, Ocala, St. Pete Beach, and Gibsonton. At the Dunkin' Donuts at 5227 Ehrlich Rd. in Tampa, inspectors found food not cooked to required minimum temperature alongside no consumer advisory and no person in charge present, a combination that leaves customers with no warning and no responsible manager on site.
The Dunkin' PC#310284 at 7823 W Sunrise Blvd. in Plantation drew only two high-severity violations, the lowest count among the ten locations reviewed, but both were substantive: food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, and food not cooked to required minimum temperature.
At the Atlantic Boulevard Jacksonville location, the violation for food from an unapproved or unknown source remains on the record without any public documentation of where that food came from or whether it was removed from service.
