ORLANDO, FL. Back in April 2026, inspectors walked into Cayjo at 6601 Old Winter Garden Road and found toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled near the food operation, food that had not been cooked to required minimum temperatures, and products in poor enough condition to be flagged as adulterated or mislabeled. Six high-severity violations in a single visit. The restaurant was not closed.
That April 13 inspection came just one week after a visit that produced 11 high-severity and 7 intermediate violations, and one week after that, inspectors had already been back twice in the same month.
What Inspectors Found
The chemical violations were cited twice, under two separate categories: improper storage or labeling, and improper identification or use. Both represent the same acute danger, chemicals positioned or handled in ways that could contaminate food directly.
Inspectors also cited the facility for failing to cook food to required minimum temperatures, a violation that carries specific consequences. Poultry that does not reach 165 degrees Fahrenheit retains viable salmonella. The risk is not theoretical.
The absence of a consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods compounded that finding. Customers who are pregnant, elderly, immunocompromised, or very young cannot make an informed choice about what they are eating if the menu does not disclose that certain items are served undercooked.
Improperly cleaned food contact surfaces rounded out the high-severity count, along with food flagged as adulterated or mislabeled. Four intermediate violations accompanied the six high-severity ones: improper sewage or wastewater disposal, reuse of single-use items, inadequate ventilation and lighting, and improper waste disposal that can draw pests.
What These Violations Mean
The chemical storage violations are among the most immediately dangerous findings an inspector can document. When toxic substances sit near food, near food contact surfaces, or are unlabeled, the contamination pathway is direct. A customer would have no way of knowing their meal had been compromised.
The undercooking violation is a separate and distinct hazard. Bacterial pathogens like salmonella survive in poultry that has not reached the required internal temperature. Unlike a chemical exposure, which can be immediate, a foodborne illness from undercooking may not show symptoms for 12 to 72 hours, making it difficult for a sick customer to connect their illness to the meal.
Improper sewage disposal, documented as an intermediate violation at Cayjo on April 13, introduces fecal contamination risk throughout a facility. Raw sewage carries pathogens that can spread to food preparation surfaces, food itself, and employees.
Reusing single-use items, also cited that day, matters because those items were not designed to be cleaned and sanitized between uses. Residue and bacteria remain on the surface regardless of rinsing. The combination of that violation with improperly cleaned food contact surfaces means multiple contamination pathways were open simultaneously.
The Longer Record
The April 13 inspection was not a bad day at an otherwise clean restaurant. Cayjo has 45 inspections on record and 578 total violations documented across that history.
The weeks surrounding the April 13 visit tell a concentrated story. On April 2, inspectors came twice in a single day: one visit produced 2 high-severity and 3 intermediate violations, a second visit that same day produced 12 high-severity and 7 intermediate violations. On April 6, another inspection produced 11 high-severity and 7 intermediate violations. The April 13 visit, with its 6 high-severity citations, was the fourth inspection in 12 days.
Before that stretch, a January 7, 2026 inspection had turned up 9 high-severity and 5 intermediate violations. A clean inspection on October 31, 2025, with zero violations in either category, stands as a notable exception in an otherwise consistent pattern of high-severity findings stretching back through September and July of 2025.
Cayjo: Recent Inspection Pattern
The facility's one prior emergency closure came in April 2016, when inspectors ordered it shut for roach activity. It reopened the following day.
In April 2026, with toxic chemicals improperly stored, food not cooked to temperature, and sewage disposal flagged as a problem, the restaurant stayed open.