JACKSONVILLE, FL. Inspectors visiting Cantina Caramba! at 12640 Bartram Park Boulevard on July 30 documented that the restaurant had no approved potable water supply, meaning the water used throughout the kitchen that day could not be verified as safe for human contact with food.
That was one of ten high-severity violations cited in a single inspection. The restaurant was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The potable water violation sat alongside nine other high-severity citations. Inspectors found food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled near food.
Employees were not reporting symptoms of illness, and no allergen awareness was demonstrated by staff. Inspectors also cited improper hand and arm washing technique, meaning handwashing attempts were made but done incorrectly, leaving pathogens on hands.
No consumer advisory was posted for raw or undercooked foods, and required procedures for specialized food processes were not being followed. The person in charge was either not present or not performing supervisory duties.
On the intermediate level, inspectors cited improper sewage or wastewater disposal, multi-use utensils not properly cleaned, inadequate ventilation and lighting, and inadequate or improperly maintained toilet facilities.
What These Violations Mean
The absence of an approved potable water supply is not a paperwork problem. Water used in food preparation that cannot be verified as safe can carry E. coli, Cryptosporidium, Giardia, and Legionella. Every surface washed with that water, every pot filled, every hand rinsed, becomes a potential transmission point.
The illness-reporting violation compounds that risk directly. When employees do not report symptoms of illness, sick workers continue handling food. Norovirus, which spreads through exactly this route, is responsible for the majority of foodborne illness outbreaks traced to restaurants. One infected worker can expose dozens of customers in a single shift.
Undercooking violations carry their own specific danger. Salmonella in poultry survives below 165 degrees Fahrenheit. If food at Cantina Caramba! was not reaching required internal temperatures on July 30, customers eating that day had no way of knowing it.
The allergen violation adds another layer. Food allergies affect roughly 32 million Americans, and reactions send 30,000 people to emergency rooms each year. A kitchen where staff cannot demonstrate allergen awareness is a kitchen where a customer's question about ingredients may not get a reliable answer.
The Longer Record
Cantina Caramba! Inspection Pattern, 2024-2026
The July 30 inspection was not an aberration. State records show Cantina Caramba! has been inspected 27 times and has accumulated 252 total violations across that history. The restaurant has never been emergency-closed.
The November 2025 inspection produced 9 high-severity and 5 intermediate violations. The July 2025 inspection produced 7 high-severity and 3 intermediate violations. The January 2026 inspection produced 6 high-severity and 3 intermediate violations. The pattern across those visits is not a restaurant occasionally having a bad day.
A follow-up inspection on July 31, the day after the 10-violation visit, found 2 high-severity violations. A second follow-up on August 11 found none. Violations that inspectors document in a follow-up visit tend to be the ones that could not be corrected on the spot. The speed of the turnaround in August does not erase what was present on July 30.
Open for Business
Florida's emergency closure authority exists for situations where inspectors determine that conditions present an immediate danger to the public. Ten high-severity violations, including no approved water supply, undercooking, unreported employee illness, and improperly stored chemicals, did not meet that threshold at Cantina Caramba! on July 30, 2026.
The restaurant served customers that day.
