, FL. Before Charge Up 46 sold its first item to the public, a state inspector found packages of raw bacon stored directly above packages of ready-to-eat hot dogs in the backroom walk-in cooler.
That finding, documented during a Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services preoperational inspection on September 10, 2026, was one of four violations recorded before the convenience store was cleared to open. Two of those violations were classified as priority, the highest severity level under state food safety rules.
What Inspectors Found
The raw meat storage problem was corrected during the inspection. The inspector noted that the raw bacon was removed and properly stored before the visit concluded.
The second priority violation involved chemicals sitting on a shelf directly above crates of ready-to-eat snacks in the backroom. That, too, was corrected on site, with the chemicals relocated during the inspection.
Two additional violations, classified as priority foundation, were not corrected on site. The person in charge could not correctly answer questions about foodborne diseases and their symptoms. The inspector provided an employee health policy during the visit, but the underlying gap, a store preparing to open without a certified food protection manager, remained.
The establishment also had no written procedures for employees to follow in the event of a vomiting or diarrhea incident on the premises. The inspector provided guidance documents covering cleanup procedures and Norovirus disinfection, but no written plan was in place at the time of inspection.
The inspection record also notes that no certified food protection manager certification was available at the facility.
What These Violations Mean
Raw bacon stored above ready-to-eat hot dogs is not a minor shelving error. Raw pork carries bacteria including Salmonella and Listeria. When raw meat drips, leaks, or makes contact with food that will be eaten without further cooking, those pathogens transfer directly. At Charge Up 46, the hot dogs below the bacon were ready to eat, meaning no cooking step would kill anything that contaminated them.
The chemical storage violation carries a different but equally direct risk. Cleaning agents and sanitizers stored above open food containers can spill, drip, or aerosolize onto the food below. Ingesting even trace amounts of certain chemicals causes acute illness. The fact that both the raw meat and the chemical violations occurred in the same backroom, before the store had served a single customer, points to setup decisions made before the inspection, not mid-service mistakes.
The person in charge failing basic questions about foodborne illness symptoms matters because that person is responsible for recognizing when an employee is too sick to handle food. At Charge Up 46, the inspector noted the individual did not respond correctly to questions about foodborne diseases and their symptoms. A person in charge who cannot identify those symptoms cannot pull a sick employee from food handling duties.
The absence of written vomit and diarrhea cleanup procedures is a specific Norovirus risk. Norovirus spreads rapidly in retail food environments when contaminated surfaces are not properly disinfected. A convenience store without a written cleanup protocol leaves employees without guidance at the moment it is most needed.
The Longer Record
The September 10 inspection was a preoperational inspection, meaning it was conducted before Charge Up 46 opened to the public. The store met preoperational inspection requirements, meaning the inspector cleared it to open despite the four violations on record.
None of the four violations were marked as repeat citations, which reflects the fact that this was the facility's first inspection on record. There is no prior history to compare against.
What the record does show is that a store entering operation had two priority violations corrected only because an inspector was present to catch them. The raw bacon and the chemicals were not moved until the inspector documented them. Without that visit, both conditions would have existed when the store opened its doors.
The two violations that were not corrected on site, the knowledge gap in food safety and the missing cleanup procedures, remained unresolved when the inspector left the building.
