OVIEDO, FL. Back in April 2026, state inspectors walked into Alma Argentina on Aloma Avenue and found food sourced from suppliers that could not be verified as USDA or FDA approved, a violation that means there is no traceability if a customer gets sick and no guarantee the food was ever inspected for Listeria, Salmonella, or any other pathogen.
That was one of seven high-severity violations documented during the April 17 inspection. The restaurant was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The April inspection also cited food in poor condition, mislabeled, or adulterated. That category covers anything from spoiled product to items that have been tampered with or incorrectly identified, and it sat alongside a separate citation for food not cooked to the required minimum temperature.
Inspectors further documented that food contact surfaces, the cutting boards, prep tables, and utensils that touch ingredients before they reach a plate, were not properly cleaned or sanitized. That finding appeared in the same inspection as toxic chemicals stored or labeled improperly, meaning hazardous substances were in proximity to food preparation without adequate controls.
The restaurant also had no written employee health policy. Without one, there is no formal mechanism to keep a sick worker out of the kitchen. Two intermediate violations rounded out the report: improper sewage or wastewater disposal, and inadequate or improperly maintained toilet facilities.
What These Violations Mean
Food from an unapproved or unknown source is among the most serious categories in food safety enforcement because it severs the chain of accountability entirely. If a customer becomes ill after eating at Alma Argentina, investigators would have no supplier records to trace, no lot numbers to pull, and no way to determine whether the ingredient was ever inspected. The same food that bypasses USDA or FDA review can carry Listeria or Salmonella without any visible sign of spoilage.
The undercooking citation compounds that risk directly. Salmonella in poultry survives below 165 degrees Fahrenheit. If the protein on the plate came from a source that was never federally inspected and was then not cooked to the temperature required to kill pathogens, the two violations function together as a single, compounded hazard.
The absence of a consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods matters most for the people least able to absorb the consequences. Elderly diners, pregnant women, young children, and anyone with a compromised immune system rely on that disclosure to make an informed choice. At Alma Argentina in April, that disclosure was not present.
Improperly stored toxic chemicals near food is not a paperwork violation. Mislabeled or misplaced cleaning agents and pesticides can contaminate food directly, and the symptoms of chemical poisoning can be severe and rapid. Combined with the sewage disposal citation, the April inspection described a facility with failures across sourcing, cooking, sanitation, chemical storage, and basic hygiene infrastructure simultaneously.
The Longer Record
The April 2026 inspection was not an anomaly. State records show Alma Argentina has been inspected 17 times and has accumulated 129 total violations across its history, with zero emergency closures on record.
The pattern of high-severity citations stretches back years. In March 2023, a single inspection produced 12 high-severity and 5 intermediate violations, the worst single-visit tally in the facility's documented history. Inspectors returned twice more that same month, on March 7 and March 29, and found additional high-severity violations each time.
The citations did not stop after that stretch. Inspectors documented high-severity violations again in July 2023, January 2024, November 2024, May 2025, and September 2025, before the April 2026 visit. The September 2025 inspection alone produced 5 high-severity violations and 2 intermediate ones, a number nearly matching what was found seven months later.
Food sourcing, cooking temperatures, and sanitation failures have appeared across multiple inspection cycles at this location. That is not a facility catching up on a single overlooked issue. It is a record of recurring failures in the categories that carry the highest health consequences.
Still Open
Florida's emergency closure authority is triggered when an inspector determines that conditions pose an immediate threat to public health. Seven high-severity violations at Alma Argentina in April 2026, including unknown food sources, undercooking, chemical mishandling, and sewage disposal problems, did not meet that threshold in the inspector's determination.
The restaurant was open when the inspection ended.