BONITA SPRINGS, FL. An employee at Aji Limon Taste of Peru on Old 41 Road was found not reporting symptoms of illness during a May 15, 2026 state inspection, a violation that puts every customer who ate there at direct risk of a multi-victim outbreak from pathogens like norovirus.
That was one of six high-severity violations the inspector documented that day. The restaurant at 26455 Old 41 Road, Suite 19 was not emergency-closed.
What Inspectors Found
The illness reporting failure was not the only violation with direct customer consequences. The inspector also cited improper handwashing technique, meaning employees were going through the motions of washing their hands without actually removing pathogens.
The shellfish records violation adds a separate layer of risk. The inspector found inadequate shell stock identification and records, which means that if a customer became ill after eating oysters, clams, or mussels, there would be no reliable way to trace where those shellfish came from or pull them from circulation.
The restaurant also had no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked foods, no demonstrated allergen awareness among staff, and toxic substances that were improperly identified, stored, or used. The intermediate violation involved multi-use utensils that were not properly cleaned.
What These Violations Mean
The illness reporting failure is the violation that public health officials consistently identify as the primary driver of restaurant-linked outbreaks. A food worker who continues handling food while symptomatic with norovirus can infect dozens of customers before a single complaint is filed. The risk is not theoretical: norovirus is the leading cause of foodborne illness in the United States, and restaurants are its most common transmission setting.
The improper handwashing technique citation compounds that risk directly. An employee who attempts to wash their hands but does so incorrectly leaves the same pathogens on their hands as an employee who skips handwashing entirely. Both violations existing in the same kitchen at the same time represent a compounding failure in the most basic line of defense against foodborne illness.
The shellfish traceability violation matters for a specific reason beyond the individual meal. Shellfish are filter feeders that concentrate bacteria and viruses from the water they inhabit. They are frequently eaten raw or lightly cooked, which means no heat kills any contamination present. Without proper shell stock tags and records at Aji Limon, there is no chain of custody if a customer falls ill.
The allergen awareness violation is its own category of danger. Food allergies send 30,000 people to emergency rooms annually and cause deaths. When staff cannot demonstrate allergen awareness, customers with serious allergies to shellfish, tree nuts, or other ingredients cannot rely on the staff to protect them. At a Peruvian restaurant where shellfish appear on the menu, that gap is not abstract.
The Longer Record
The May 2026 inspection was not an anomaly. State records show Aji Limon Taste of Peru has been inspected 26 times and has accumulated 140 total violations across that history.
The pattern of high-severity violations is consistent. The November 2025 inspection produced 3 high-severity citations. The January 2024 inspection produced 5 high-severity citations. The September 2024 inspection produced 3 high-severity citations. The June 2023 inspection, conducted on consecutive days, produced 3 high-severity violations on June 14 and 2 more on June 15.
The single clean inspection in the record, in April 2024, stands as the exception. Every other recent inspection has produced at least one high-severity violation, and the May 2026 visit, with six, represents the highest single-inspection count in the recent history visible in state records.
The restaurant has never been emergency-closed across 26 inspections.
The Longer Record in Numbers
Aji Limon: High-Severity Violations by Inspection, 2022-2026
Six high-severity violations in a single inspection, including a failure to report employee illness and no allergen awareness demonstrated by staff, and the restaurant on Old 41 Road in Bonita Springs continued serving customers.