ORMOND BEACH, FL. Back in March 2026, a state inspector walked into A Plus Store #40466H on a routine visit and found the container holding tongs for the self-service hot dog roller grill had not been washed, rinsed, or sanitized in an unknown period of time. The manager, when asked, was unable to confirm when it had last been cleaned.
That finding, a priority violation under state food safety code, was one of 14 violations documented during the March 17 inspection. The store met sanitation requirements by the end of the visit, but several of the problems inspectors found speak to cleaning routines that had slipped well below standard.
What Inspectors Found
The fountain beverage nozzles were found with a buildup of residue. State food safety rules require those nozzles to be cleaned every 24 hours. The manager told the inspector they were cleaned weekly. The manager removed the nozzles and washed, rinsed, and sanitized them before service continued.
There was also a powdered beverage machine in the retail area with a buildup of powdered beverages on its food-contact surfaces inside. That was cited as a priority foundation violation, meaning it falls into the category of practices that must be in place to prevent more serious hazards from developing.
The nozzle situation did not end with the fountain machine. After the fountain nozzles were cleaned, an employee dried them with hand towels rather than allowing them to air dry, which is required after sanitizing. The inspector noted this, and the employee sanitized the nozzles again and let them air dry before putting them back into use.
A third nozzle issue involved the creamer cooler. The dispensing tubes on the creamer cooler were cut leaving more than an inch protruding from the chilled dispensing head, and they were not cut at the required diagonal angle.
The dirt and residue problems extended across multiple areas of the store. The shelving on an end cap across from the walk-in refrigerator had a buildup of dust and dirt. The underside of the slushy machine had food residue on it. Doors on a reach-in freezer in the back room had a buildup of food residue. Beverage sliding racks inside the walk-in cooler were dirty. Fan covers in the walk-in refrigerator condensers had a buildup of dust.
The gasket on the reach-in glass door where milk is stored in the retail area was ripped and in disrepair.
Two food employee violations were also documented. One employee was working with exposed foods without a hair restraint. Another was wearing jewelry on their arm or hand while preparing foods.
The store's current food permit was not conspicuously displayed or provided when the inspector arrived.
What These Violations Mean
The hot dog roller tong container violation is the kind of finding that matters most to anyone who has grabbed a quick bite at a convenience store roller grill. Equipment that holds utensils used with ready-to-eat foods must be cleaned and sanitized on a strict schedule, every four hours during operation, because bacteria can multiply on food residue left on surfaces at room temperature. When a manager cannot say when a container was last cleaned, there is no way to know how long any contamination had been present.
The powdered beverage machine finding falls under a similar concern. Residue buildup on surfaces inside machines that dispense drinks customers consume directly is a contamination pathway. The longer residue accumulates, the harder it is to sanitize effectively, and the greater the risk that something ends up in a customer's cup.
The illness reporting violation is less visible but carries real weight. State rules require that food employees be informed of their obligation to report symptoms of foodborne illness to management, and that documentation of that reporting agreement be kept on file. When that system is not in place, a sick employee may continue working without anyone knowing, which is one of the most direct routes for illness to spread from a food service worker to customers. At this store in March, that verification could not be confirmed.
The fountain nozzle and creamer dispenser findings matter because customers interact with these surfaces every time they fill a cup or add creamer. Nozzles cleaned weekly instead of daily, or dispensing tubes that are not cut correctly, can harbor bacteria or create conditions that allow contamination to drip back into the dispenser.
The Longer Record
The March 17 inspection record does not include a count of prior inspections on file for this location, which limits what can be said about the store's history of compliance. What the record does show is that none of the 14 violations cited this visit were marked as repeats, meaning the inspector did not flag any of them as problems that had been documented and left unresolved from a previous visit.
That distinction matters. A first-time citation for dirty fountain nozzles is a different story than a third or fourth citation for the same problem. Without a longer inspection history to compare, the March findings stand on their own as a snapshot of conditions that day.
What the record does make clear is that the cleaning failures were not confined to one corner of the store. The slushy machine, the reach-in freezer doors, the walk-in cooler racks, the fan covers, the end cap shelving: the buildup of dirt and residue across that many surfaces in that many locations points to cleaning schedules that were not being followed consistently.
The store met sanitation requirements by the end of the inspection. The powdered beverage machine residue, however, was cited as an equipment food-contact surface violation, and the record does not indicate that finding was corrected on site before the inspector left.