, FL. A food employee at Carniceria Huetamo Inc was observed putting on gloves without first washing their hands before engaging in food processing, according to a September 29 inspection by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
That finding was one of three priority violations recorded during the inspection of the grocery store, which also turned up raw shell eggs stored above sliced onions and tomatoes in a prep reach-in cooler, and sliced lettuce and tomatoes held between 43 and 44 degrees Fahrenheit when state rules require cold-held food to stay at or below 41 degrees.
The inspection recorded 18 total violations, none of them repeats from a prior visit.
What Inspectors Found
The inspector documented the raw egg situation in the processing area: raw shell eggs were stored over sliced onions and tomatoes inside a prep reach-in cooler. The person in charge moved the eggs to the bottom shelf during the inspection.
In the same cooler, sliced lettuce and tomatoes measured between 43 and 44 degrees Fahrenheit. The inspector noted they were moved under proper refrigeration after the temperature readings were taken.
The handwashing sink adjacent to the three-compartment sink in the meat department had no paper towels available. The person in charge provided them during the inspection. No hand-washing sign was posted at the hand-wash sink in the processing area, either.
The retail area had its own set of problems. Store-repackaged fried wheat snacks and chicharron were missing ingredients labels, a violation that the inspector flagged as misbranded packaged food. The person in charge relabeled them on site. Cases of chips were found stored directly on the floor, and no written consumer notification was provided for major food allergens in unpackaged food items sold or served.
In the meat department, in-use wet wiping cloths were stored on a prep table between uses rather than in a sanitizing solution. The inspector noted heavy grease and dried food particles on the underside of the oven, the flat oven, and the prep table in the processing area. Loose and dried food particles were found in the door tracks of the meat display case.
A light bulb inside the chicharron case in the retail area was not shielded against shattering. The floor under walk-in freezer shelves in the meat department was not clean, and several ceiling tiles in the meat department were stained. A hand-washing sink in the backroom restroom was leaking. No test kit for measuring chemical sanitizer concentration was available anywhere on the premises.
The Manager Who Couldn't Answer Basic Questions
Four of the 18 violations were classified as priority foundation violations, a category that reflects systemic gaps in food safety management rather than a single incident.
The person in charge was unable to correctly answer questions about foodborne disease, the symptoms that can cause it, or the conditions under which employees should be restricted from or excluded from work. The inspector also noted that the person in charge could not ensure food employees had been informed in a verifiable manner to report their illness or symptoms related to diseases transmissible through food.
The establishment had no written procedures for cleaning up accidental vomiting or diarrheal incidents.
Those three findings together indicate that the store's management structure did not have the foundational food safety knowledge required to oversee a food processing and retail operation.
What These Violations Mean
The raw egg cross-contamination finding is among the most direct food safety risks documented in this inspection. Raw shell eggs carry Salmonella, and storing them above ready-to-eat vegetables like sliced onions and tomatoes creates a direct path for that bacteria to reach food that won't be cooked before a customer eats it. The violation was corrected on site, but the risk existed before the inspector arrived.
The temperature violation in the same cooler compounds that concern. Sliced lettuce and tomatoes held at 43 to 44 degrees, even just two to three degrees above the 41-degree threshold, can allow bacterial growth to accelerate over time. The margin looks small on paper; in practice, it means food that was out of safe range for an unknown period before the inspection.
The person-in-charge violations carry their own weight. A manager who cannot correctly explain when an ill employee should be sent home, or what symptoms are associated with foodborne illness, is not positioned to catch problems before they reach customers. The absence of written vomiting and diarrhea cleanup procedures means there is no protocol in place if a contamination incident happens on the floor.
The misbranded packaged foods finding, while corrected on site, matters for shoppers with food allergies. Repackaged chicharron and wheat snacks without ingredient labels give customers no way to identify allergens before purchasing.
The Longer Record
The data provided for this inspection does not include a count of prior inspections on record for Carniceria Huetamo Inc, so it is not possible to place this visit in a longer numerical context.
What the record does show is that all 18 violations cited on September 29 were new, with no repeats from prior inspections. That means the cross-contamination issue, the temperature failure, the missing sanitizer test kit, and the management knowledge gaps had not been flagged and left unresolved from a previous visit. They were found fresh.
Three of the priority violations were corrected on site: the raw eggs were repositioned, the out-of-temperature produce was moved, and the employee who skipped handwashing was redirected. The misbranded packaged foods were relabeled. Paper towels were provided at the meat department sink.
The violations not corrected during the inspection include the leaking restroom sink, the absence of a chemical sanitizer test kit, the missing allergen notification for unpackaged foods, the grease and food particle buildup on equipment surfaces, and the stained ceiling tiles in the meat department.
