, FL. An inspector visiting 7-Eleven Store #38261A had to physically remove items from the handwashing sink basin before being able to wash their own hands during a September 22 inspection, state records show.
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services cited 7-Eleven Store #38261A - Nhbailey Inc for six violations, including one priority violation and one repeat citation. None of the violations were corrected on site at the time of the inspector's initial observations, though several were addressed during the visit.
What Inspectors Found
UNRESOLVED AT INSPECTION END
CORRECTED ON SITE
The blocked sink was the most direct safety concern documented. According to state records, a rolling product display unit in the front food service area partially blocked the employee handwashing sink, making it difficult to wash hands properly. In the warewashing area, the inspector found soap bottles and a plastic container sitting inside the sink basin itself. The inspector removed those items to a shelf in order to wash their own hands.
Both sink issues were corrected on site after the inspector intervened.
The priority violation involved handwashing technique, not just access. An employee in the front food service area was observed washing their hands for less than 10 seconds and then putting on gloves without drying their hands first. The inspector spoke with the employee and explained proper handwashing and drying procedure.
In the retail area, containers of half and half and whole milk in a dispenser had not been labeled with their opened date, a requirement for ready-to-eat dairy products that need time and temperature tracking. Those containers were labeled during the inspection.
An employee was also observed handling exposed food in the front food service area without wearing a hair restraint or beard restraint. That violation was not noted as corrected during the visit.
The store's current 2026 food permit was not posted in a conspicuous location, as required.
The Repeat Violation
The citation for lacking a certified food protection manager is not new for this location. State records mark it as a repeat violation, meaning inspectors documented the same deficiency during a prior inspection.
A certified food protection manager is required to have passed an accredited exam and to have documentation available on site. The inspector noted that current certification documentation was not available during the September visit.
That repeat status matters. When the same violation appears across multiple inspections, it signals that the corrective action taken after the first citation did not hold.
What These Violations Mean
The handwashing violations, taken together, describe a breakdown in the most basic contamination barrier a food handler has. Washing for less than 10 seconds does not remove pathogens effectively. Skipping the drying step and going straight to gloves can transfer whatever remained on the hands to the glove surface, which then contacts food directly.
Blocking the handwashing sink compounds the problem. If the sink is partially obstructed by a rolling display unit or has items sitting in the basin, employees face a physical obstacle to compliance. At this store, both forms of obstruction were present at the same time, in two separate areas.
The unlabeled dairy containers in the dispenser represent a different category of risk. Ready-to-eat dairy products that require refrigeration have a limited window after opening before bacterial growth becomes a concern. Without an opened date, there is no way to know whether a container has been in use for one hour or two days. The labeling requirement exists precisely because that distinction is not visible to the eye.
The absence of a certified food protection manager affects the entire operation, not just one violation. A certified manager is trained to identify and correct the kinds of problems inspectors found here, including improper handwashing, blocked sinks, and unlabeled products. When that role is unfilled or undocumented, the store lacks a trained internal check on its own practices.
The Longer Record
The data available for this inspection does not include a full prior inspection count for this location. What the record does show is that at least one of the six violations cited in September, the absence of a certified food protection manager, has been cited before.
A repeat violation at a convenience store with food service operations is a specific kind of failure. It means the issue was identified, documented, and presumably communicated to management, and the problem persisted long enough to appear again on the next relevant inspection.
The September 22 inspection result was listed as "Met Sanitation Inspection Requirements," meaning the store was not ordered closed and was not issued a stop sale order. Three of the six violations were corrected during the inspection itself.
Three were not. The store had no certified food protection manager documentation on file, an employee had handled food without a hair restraint, and the 2026 food permit remained unposted when the inspector left.
