WEST PALM BEACH, FL. Back in March 2026, a state inspector at Celis Produce on the specialty food shop floor watched an employee begin handling food without washing hands after touching soiled equipment. The inspector noted the violation directly: "Service counter, food employee engaged in food prep before washing hands after touching soiled equipment." The employee washed hands only after the inspector intervened and discussed proper hand-washing procedures.
That single moment set the tone for an inspection that turned up five violations, including one priority citation and three priority-foundation findings, at the West Palm Beach specialty produce shop.
What Inspectors Found
Beyond the hand-washing lapse, the inspector found that the person in charge could not correctly answer questions related to preventing foodborne illness. The inspector's note was blunt: "Person in charge did not answer questions related to foodborne illnesses and symptoms." An employee health guide was provided on the spot.
The inspector also could not verify that food employees knew they were required to report diagnoses and symptoms connected to foodborne illnesses. A Reporting Agreement was provided during the visit.
The kitchen hand-wash sink had no hot water available. The inspector noted the problem was corrected during the visit, with hot water restored before the inspection concluded.
The shop also had no written procedures for employees to follow in the event of a vomit or diarrhea incident. An industry document was provided to address the gap.
None of the five violations were marked as repeat citations from a prior inspection.
What These Violations Mean
The priority violation, an employee handling food without first washing hands after touching soiled equipment, is among the most direct contamination risks in any food retail setting. Hands that move from dirty surfaces to fresh produce carry bacteria and pathogens directly onto food that customers may take home and eat without cooking. At a produce shop, where much of the inventory is consumed raw, that transfer has no heat-kill step to stop it.
The three priority-foundation violations tied to employee illness knowledge compound that risk. When the person in charge cannot answer basic questions about foodborne illness and symptoms, it signals that the shop's first line of defense against a sick employee working with food is not functioning. The inspector was unable to confirm that any food employee at Celis Produce knew they were required to report a diagnosis or symptom, which means a worker with norovirus or salmonella exposure may not have understood they were obligated to stay off the floor.
The missing vomit and diarrhea cleanup procedures matter for a related reason. Without a written protocol, employees responding to a contamination event in the store may spread pathogens rather than contain them, putting other food and surfaces at risk.
The lack of hot water at the hand-wash sink, even briefly, removes the most basic tool for the hand-washing that was already being skipped at the service counter.
The Longer Record
The March 6 inspection was not the first time state regulators visited Celis Produce. Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services records show three prior inspections at this location going back to December 2023.
The earliest on record, from December 14, 2023, resulted in seven violations. That inspection, like the March 2026 visit, was conducted under the "Met Inspection Requirements" standard, meaning the shop passed despite the citation count.
Two focused inspections followed, one on February 10, 2026, and one on March 16, 2026. Both returned zero violations. The March 16 focused inspection came ten days after the five-violation inspection that is the subject of this article, suggesting a follow-up check confirmed the most pressing issues had been addressed.
None of the violations from the March 6 visit were flagged as repeats of prior findings, so the record does not show the same specific problems cited in December 2023 reappearing. But the pattern across inspections, seven violations in 2023, five in March 2026, does show that the shop has not consistently sailed through routine inspections.
The person in charge's inability to answer basic foodborne illness questions is the detail that sits unresolved in the March 6 record. An employee health guide was handed over during the visit, but no correction was marked on site for that violation, nor for the failure to verify that food employees understood their illness-reporting responsibilities.