ORLANDO, FL. State inspectors walked into Cantina Catrina at 8001 S. Orange Blossom Trail on May 4 and found food sourced from unapproved or unknown suppliers, food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, and toxic chemicals stored improperly near food. They documented seven high-severity violations and three intermediate ones. Then they left the restaurant open.

The food-from-unapproved-sources citation is among the most serious a Florida inspector can write. It means some portion of what the kitchen was serving that day had not passed through USDA or FDA-regulated supply chains, and there is no paper trail connecting it to a licensed producer, processor, or distributor.

What Inspectors Found

1HIGHFood from unapproved or unknown sourceNo supply chain traceability
2HIGHFood not cooked to required minimum temperaturePathogen survival risk
3HIGHToxic chemicals improperly stored or labeledAcute poisoning risk
4HIGHFood contact surfaces not properly cleaned/sanitizedCross-contamination vector
5HIGHFood in poor condition, mislabeled, or adulteratedSpoilage or contamination
6HIGHImproper hand and arm washing techniquePathogen transfer risk
7HIGHNo consumer advisory for raw/undercooked foodsVulnerable customers uninformed
8INTMulti-use utensils not properly cleanedBacterial biofilm risk
9INTImproper use of wiping clothsContamination spread
10INTInadequate ventilation and lightingGrease vapor accumulation

The undercooking violation compounds the sourcing problem. If food is arriving from an unknown supplier, it may already carry a higher pathogen load than regulated product. Failing to reach required internal temperatures means those pathogens survive to the plate.

Inspectors also cited food in poor condition, described in state records as spoiled, contaminated, mislabeled, or adulterated. That finding, alongside the unapproved-source citation, means the kitchen that day had food with no verified origin and some of it was in a condition that should have kept it off the menu entirely.

The toxic chemicals citation rounds out a picture of basic safety failures. Chemicals stored improperly near food create a direct contamination path, and mislabeled chemicals mean staff may not know what they are handling or what it can do if it contacts food or a surface.

What These Violations Mean

The unapproved-source violation is not a paperwork technicality. When food bypasses licensed supply chains, there is no way to trace it if customers get sick. If an illness cluster emerges, investigators cannot pull lot numbers, contact distributors, or identify other affected restaurants. The food simply has no documented history.

The undercooking citation is among the most direct illness vectors in food service. Salmonella in poultry requires an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit to be destroyed. Food that does not reach that threshold can carry live bacteria to the table, and a single serving can cause severe illness.

Improper handwashing technique, also cited as a high-severity violation, is distinct from not washing at all. It means an employee went through the motions of handwashing but did so incorrectly, leaving pathogens on hands that then transferred to food, surfaces, or utensils. The intermediate citation for improperly used wiping cloths fits the same pattern: cloths used across multiple surfaces spread whatever contamination they picked up on the first wipe to everything they touch after.

The missing consumer advisory is a specific hazard for elderly diners, pregnant women, young children, and anyone with a compromised immune system. Without posted notice that some items are served raw or undercooked, those customers cannot make an informed choice about their risk.

The Longer Record

The May 4 inspection is not an outlier. It is the ninth documented inspection in the past three years to include high-severity violations, and the pattern is nearly identical across visits.

Cantina Catrina: Recent Inspection History

May 20267 high-severity, 3 intermediate violations. Restaurant remained open.
December 20256 high-severity, 2 intermediate violations.
November 20256 high-severity, 2 intermediate violations.
July 20257 high-severity, 3 intermediate violations.
May 20257 high-severity, 3 intermediate violations.
December 20243 high-severity, 2 intermediate violations.
March 20244 high-severity, 3 intermediate violations.
July 20238 high-severity, 3 intermediate violations — highest single-visit count on record.

Across 19 inspections on record, state records show 274 total violations. The facility has never been emergency-closed.

The visits in July 2025 and May 2025 each produced the same count as May 2026: seven high-severity and three intermediate violations. The November and December 2025 inspections each produced six high-severity violations. The violation categories that appeared this month, including food sourcing, cooking temperatures, and surface sanitation, are the same categories that have driven citations across multiple prior visits.

A facility with a single bad inspection tells one story. A facility with eight inspections in roughly three years, every one of them carrying multiple high-severity violations, and a cumulative record of 274 total citations, tells a different one.

Still Open

Florida's emergency closure authority is triggered when an inspector determines that conditions pose an immediate threat to public health. Seven high-severity violations on May 4, including food from an unknown source, undercooking, and chemicals stored near food, did not meet that threshold in the inspector's judgment.

Cantina Catrina was open for business when the inspection concluded.