JACKSONVILLE, FL. A Jacksonville Vietnamese restaurant was cited for failing to follow parasite destruction procedures for fish on the same inspection that found toxic chemicals improperly stored near food, food in poor or adulterated condition, and surfaces that had not been properly cleaned or sanitized. State inspectors documented seven high-severity violations at Banh Mi and Pho Express at 3515 Saint John Bluff Rd S on September 21, 2026. The restaurant was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The parasite destruction citation is among the most direct food safety failures an inspector can document at a restaurant serving fish. State rules require that fish intended for raw or undercooked consumption be frozen to specific temperatures for specific durations before it reaches a customer's bowl. When that step is skipped, parasites including Anisakis roundworm and tapeworm can survive into the finished dish.
Toxic chemicals stored improperly near food areas compound the danger. Mislabeled or misplaced cleaning compounds and pesticides can contaminate food directly, and in a kitchen where surfaces were also cited for not being properly cleaned or sanitized, the risk of transfer multiplies.
The shellfish traceability violation adds a separate layer of concern. Inspectors found inadequate shell stock identification records, meaning if a customer became ill after eating oysters, clams, or mussels from this kitchen, investigators would have no reliable chain of custody to trace the source.
There was no employee health policy in place. Without one, there is no documented mechanism to keep a sick worker out of the kitchen.
What These Violations Mean
The parasite destruction failure is not a paperwork problem. Pho and Vietnamese cuisine frequently feature fish and shellfish, and the restaurant's name signals that these are central menu items. Anisakis, a roundworm found in raw or undercooked fish, causes severe abdominal pain and can require surgical removal if it embeds in the stomach lining. The freezing protocol exists specifically because cooking is not always sufficient to destroy these organisms in every preparation.
Improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, combined with single-use items being reused and multi-use utensils not properly cleaned, create overlapping pathways for bacterial contamination. Cutting boards and prep surfaces that are not sanitized between uses transfer bacteria from one food to the next. Biofilms, which are bacterial colonies that adhere to improperly cleaned surfaces, are resistant to standard wiping and require chemical sanitization to break down.
The sewage disposal violation is in a category of its own. Improper wastewater disposal introduces fecal contamination risk into a facility. Combined with a handwashing technique citation, meaning employees were making attempts to wash hands but doing so incorrectly, the barriers between fecal bacteria and food were thinner than state standards permit.
No employee health policy means the restaurant had no written protocol requiring workers to report illness or stay home when symptomatic. Norovirus, which causes roughly 20 million cases of acute gastroenteritis in the United States annually, spreads readily through food handled by infected workers.
The Longer Record
The September 2026 inspection was not an outlier. State records show 35 inspections on file for Banh Mi and Pho Express, with 290 total violations documented across that history.
The pattern in recent years is consistent. Inspectors found seven high-severity violations in September 2025, five in April 2025, seven in November 2024, seven in July 2024, and nine in April 2024. The February 2026 visit produced eight high-severity violations. The only inspections in recent memory that showed zero high or intermediate violations were two consecutive visits in June 2025, on June 17 and June 27, suggesting the restaurant is capable of meeting standards when closely monitored.
The facility has never been emergency-closed in its inspection history. That record of remaining open, across seven visits in roughly two and a half years where high-severity violations numbered between five and nine, is itself a data point.
Still Open
State inspectors left Banh Mi and Pho Express operating on September 21, 2026, after documenting seven high-severity violations including failures on parasite destruction, chemical storage, food condition, shellfish traceability, surface sanitation, handwashing technique, and employee health policy, plus four intermediate violations covering sewage disposal, utensil cleaning, single-use item reuse, and ventilation.
The restaurant has accumulated 290 violations across 35 inspections on record. It has never been closed.
