YULEE, FL. Food from an unapproved or unknown source was on the prep line at Anejo Cocina Mexicana on Homegrown Way when state inspectors arrived on September 15, a violation that means whatever was being served that day had bypassed every federal safety checkpoint designed to catch Listeria, Salmonella, and E. coli before it reaches a customer's plate.
That was one of eleven high-severity violations inspectors documented that afternoon. The restaurant was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The list extended well beyond sourcing. Inspectors found that food was not cooked to required minimum temperatures, a direct pathway for Salmonella survival in poultry and other proteins. Toxic chemicals were improperly stored or labeled near food areas. No allergen awareness was demonstrated by staff, a gap that affects the 32 million Americans living with food allergies.
There was no person in charge present or performing duties at the time of the inspection. Handwashing facilities were inadequate. No written employee health policy existed, meaning a sick worker had no formal obligation to stay off the line.
Inspectors also cited inadequate shell stock identification and records. Shellfish served raw or lightly cooked, including oysters and clams, require precise harvest and source documentation so health officials can trace an outbreak back to a specific bed. Without those records, that traceability vanishes.
Food contact surfaces were not properly cleaned or sanitized. Multi-use utensils were improperly cleaned. Wiping cloths were being used in ways that spread contamination rather than prevent it.
Sewage or wastewater was being disposed of improperly, and toilet facilities were inadequate or improperly maintained, two conditions that compound the handwashing problem inspectors had already flagged.
Eleven high-severity citations. Four intermediate ones. The restaurant remained open.
What These Violations Mean
Food from an unapproved source is not a paperwork problem. USDA and FDA inspections exist to catch contamination before it leaves a processing facility. When a restaurant bypasses that system, there is no chain of custody if a customer gets sick, and no way to trace an illness back to its origin. That matters most during an outbreak, when speed of identification determines how many people are exposed.
The undercooking violation compounds the sourcing problem. If the food's origin is unknown and it is not reaching temperatures that kill pathogens, customers eating at Anejo on September 15 faced a compounded risk that inspectors are specifically trained to flag as emergency-level in combination.
The allergen citation carries its own weight. Food allergies send roughly 30,000 people to emergency rooms in the United States each year. When staff cannot demonstrate allergen awareness, customers with tree nut, shellfish, or other serious allergies cannot make a safe choice from the menu, because the people serving them do not have the information to help them.
The absence of an employee health policy is the kind of violation that looks administrative until it isn't. Norovirus accounts for roughly 20 million illnesses annually in the United States. The primary transmission route in restaurants is a sick worker handling food. A written policy requiring employees to report symptoms and stay home is the single most direct tool a restaurant has to interrupt that chain.
The Longer Record
The September 15 inspection was not Anejo Cocina Mexicana's first serious review. State records show 18 inspections on file for the Homegrown Way location, with 180 total violations across that history.
The pattern is not new. On September 10, 2025, a full year before this inspection, the restaurant logged 16 high-severity violations and 5 intermediate ones in a single visit. A follow-up the next day, September 11, brought the count down to 3 high and 1 intermediate. The September 15, 2026 inspection, at 11 high-severity violations, falls between those two data points.
The spring 2026 record tells a similar story. On April 27, inspectors found 10 high-severity and 5 intermediate violations. A return visit on April 28 still showed 8 high-severity citations. It took until April 30 for the count to drop to 2 high, and a follow-up inspection on September 23, 2026, eight days after the visit at the center of this story, showed zero high-severity violations.
The restaurant has never been emergency-closed in its inspection history. But the cycle, a high-violation inspection followed by a corrective visit followed by a return to elevated violation counts months later, has repeated across at least three separate inspection periods now.
Still Open
State inspectors have the authority to order an emergency closure when conditions pose an immediate threat to public health. Eleven high-severity violations, including food from an unapproved source, undercooking, improperly stored toxic chemicals, and no person in charge, did not meet that threshold on September 15.
Eight days later, on September 23, inspectors returned. That visit showed zero high-severity violations.
What the record does not show is what was served in the days between.
