DELAND, FL. A state inspector walked into Big Rig 2 on North Spring Garden Avenue on June 1 and documented that food was not being cooked to required minimum temperatures, a violation that means pathogens like Salmonella can survive in the food and reach the customer's plate.
That was one of seven high-severity violations cited that day. The restaurant was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The undercooking violation sat alongside a citation for employees not reporting illness symptoms, one of the most direct routes to a multi-victim outbreak. An employee who is sick and handling food that is also underprepared represents two simultaneous failures, each capable of causing illness on its own.
Inspectors also cited improper handwashing technique. That is a distinct violation from simply skipping handwashing. The citation means an attempt was made, but the method was inadequate, leaving pathogens on hands that then touched food or surfaces.
Toxic chemicals were found improperly stored or labeled near the food operation. That violation carries the risk of direct contamination of food or equipment, and mislabeled chemicals can be mistaken for food-safe products.
The shellfish traceability citation documents that the restaurant lacked adequate shell stock identification or records. Oysters, clams, and mussels are frequently eaten raw or lightly cooked, and without sourcing records, there is no way to trace a shellfish illness back to its origin if customers get sick.
The remaining high-severity citations were for improper use of time as a public health control, meaning food was permitted to sit in the temperature danger zone without proper documentation or limits, and for no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked items. Customers who are elderly, pregnant, or immunocompromised have no way to make an informed choice about what they order if that advisory is absent.
Three intermediate violations accompanied the seven high-severity findings: improper sewage or wastewater disposal, reuse of single-use items, and inadequate ventilation and lighting.
What These Violations Mean
The undercooking citation is not a paperwork issue. Salmonella in poultry survives below 165 degrees Fahrenheit, and customers who ate undercooked food at Big Rig 2 on June 1 had no way of knowing the food had not reached a safe temperature. The illness reporting failure compounds this directly. If a sick employee handled food that was also undercooked, the exposure risk multiplied at that moment.
The shellfish traceability failure has a specific consequence that plays out after the fact. If a customer becomes ill from a contaminated oyster or clam, health investigators need sourcing records to identify the harvest location and pull product from circulation. Without those records at Big Rig 2, that chain of accountability breaks immediately.
The chemical storage violation belongs in a different category of risk. Improperly stored or mislabeled cleaning chemicals near food preparation areas can cause acute poisoning, not a foodborne illness that develops over hours, but an immediate toxic reaction. The improper sewage disposal citation adds fecal contamination as a background risk throughout the facility.
Taken together, these ten violations on a single day represent failures across multiple independent safety systems, cooking temperatures, employee health monitoring, hand hygiene, sourcing documentation, chemical separation, and waste disposal, all failing at once.
The Longer Record
The June 1 inspection was not an aberration. State records show Big Rig 2 has accumulated 334 total violations across 38 inspections on record, a figure that averages nearly nine violations per visit over the life of the facility.
The pattern from the most recent inspection history is consistent. On October 7, 2025, inspectors cited eight high-severity and six intermediate violations. Two days later, on October 9, the count was eight high-severity and four intermediate. On October 10, it was five high-severity and three intermediate. The restaurant had two clean inspections in the summer of 2025, in July and September, but by October the high-severity violations had returned in force.
The June 2 follow-up inspection, one day after the June 1 visit, recorded four high-severity and one intermediate violation. That means the day after inspectors documented undercooking, illness reporting failures, and chemical storage problems, four high-severity violations remained.
Big Rig 2 has never been emergency-closed in its inspection history. The June 1 visit, with seven high-severity violations including undercooking and employee illness reporting failures, did not change that.
Still Open
State records show Big Rig 2 remained open following the June 1 inspection. Customers who visited that day, or the day after, ate at a restaurant where food had not been cooked to required temperatures, where employees were not required to report illness symptoms, and where shellfish sourcing records were inadequate to trace a potential outbreak.
The restaurant has 334 documented violations and has never been emergency-closed.