MIAMI, FL. Toxic chemicals were improperly stored at Bahamas Fish Market and Restaurant #2 on SW 42nd Street in Miami during a May 21 inspection that turned up seven high-severity violations, two intermediate violations, and no emergency closure order.
The restaurant at 13399 SW 42 St remained open after the inspection despite a violation list that included chemical storage near food, food in poor or adulterated condition, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, and no written employee health policy.
What Inspectors Found
Two of the seven high-severity violations involved chemicals. Inspectors cited the restaurant separately for toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled and for toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used. That is two distinct citations for chemical hazards in a single visit at an establishment that handles raw fish and seafood.
The food itself drew a high-severity citation as well. Inspectors documented food in poor condition, mislabeled, or adulterated, a finding that covers anything from spoiled product to food that cannot be traced or verified as safe.
Food contact surfaces were also cited at the high-severity level for not being properly cleaned or sanitized. At a fish market, cutting boards and prep surfaces that carry bacteria from one product to the next represent a direct contamination route to everything served.
The remaining high-severity violations covered time as a public health control, used incorrectly; no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked foods; and no written employee health policy. The two intermediate violations were for improper sanitizing solution or procedures and inadequate ventilation and lighting.
What These Violations Mean
The chemical storage violations are among the most immediately dangerous findings an inspector can document in a food service environment. When cleaning agents, sanitizers, or pesticides are stored near or above food without proper labeling, a single spill or mislabeled container can poison a customer within minutes of ingestion. Two separate chemical citations at the same inspection suggests the problem was not isolated to one shelf or one product.
The absence of a written employee health policy is a disease transmission failure waiting to happen. Without a formal policy requiring sick workers to report symptoms or stay home, a single employee working through a Norovirus infection can expose every customer served that shift. Norovirus accounts for roughly 20 million illnesses in the United States each year, and food workers are one of its primary vectors.
The food contact surface violation compounds that risk. Improperly sanitized cutting boards and prep surfaces transfer bacteria between raw fish, cooked items, and ready-to-eat foods. At a seafood restaurant, that means pathogens from raw product can reach a plate without any thermal kill step in between.
The missing consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods may seem administrative by comparison, but it is not. A pregnant woman, an elderly customer, or someone immunocompromised who orders a ceviche or a lightly cooked fish dish has no way of knowing the menu carries that risk if the restaurant has not disclosed it. That disclosure is the only protection the law gives those customers.
The Longer Record
The May 21 inspection was not an outlier. State records show Bahamas Fish Market and Restaurant #2 has accumulated 475 total violations across 25 inspections on record, a figure that works out to an average of 19 violations per visit.
Every inspection in the available prior history logged high-severity violations. The October 2025 visit produced 12 high-severity and 7 intermediate violations. The September 2024 inspection produced 11 high and 7 intermediate. The March 2025 visit produced 9 high and 5 intermediate. The May 7, 2026 inspection, just two weeks before the most recent visit, produced 9 high and 5 intermediate violations.
That two-week gap matters. Inspectors returned on May 21 and found seven more high-severity violations at the same location where nine had been cited fourteen days earlier.
The restaurant has never been emergency-closed in its inspection history. Not after the 12 high-severity violations in October 2025. Not after the 11 high-severity violations in September 2024. Not after the chemical storage citations in May 2026.
Still Open
State inspectors visited Bahamas Fish Market and Restaurant #2 on May 21, documented toxic chemicals improperly stored near a seafood operation, found food in poor or adulterated condition, cited the restaurant for food contact surfaces that were not properly cleaned, and noted that no health policy existed to keep sick workers off the line.
The restaurant remained open.