TAMPA, FL. Toxic chemicals were stored improperly near food, no one in charge was performing supervisory duties, and surfaces that touch food had not been properly cleaned or sanitized. State inspectors documented all of it at China Buffet on E. Fowler Ave on May 5, 2026, and walked out leaving the restaurant open.
The inspection produced eight high-severity violations and three intermediate violations, a tally that places this visit among the worst in the restaurant's documented history.
What Inspectors Found
Two separate chemical violations were cited during the same visit. Inspectors documented both toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled and toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used. Those are distinct citations, and both cleared the high-severity threshold.
The food contact surfaces violation means cutting boards, prep tables, or other surfaces that directly touch ingredients were not properly cleaned and sanitized between uses. That is one of the most direct routes for bacteria to move from a contaminated surface onto food a customer is about to eat.
No person in charge was present or performing managerial duties during the inspection. A buffet operation, with dozens of food items held at varying temperatures across an extended service period, requires active oversight to catch problems before they compound.
Inspectors also cited improper hand and arm washing technique. The distinction matters: employees were washing their hands, but doing it incorrectly, meaning pathogens can survive on hands that appear clean. The restaurant also lacked a consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, leaving diners with no notice that certain items carry elevated risk.
What These Violations Mean
The two chemical violations together represent the most acute risk documented in this inspection. When chemicals are stored near food without proper labeling or separation, a single misplaced container or spill can contaminate food directly. Mislabeled chemicals create a second hazard: a worker reaching for a sanitizer could grab a caustic cleaner instead. Chemical poisoning from this type of contamination can produce symptoms within minutes of consumption.
The food contact surface violation compounds the chemical risk. Improperly sanitized surfaces can harbor bacterial biofilms, layers of bacteria that standard wiping does not remove. The intermediate citation for multi-use utensils not properly cleaned points to the same problem: utensils that go through inadequate cleaning cycles develop those same biofilms within 24 hours, and every subsequent use spreads contamination to a new plate or ingredient.
The shellfish traceability violation is less visible to diners but carries serious consequences. Without proper shell stock identification records, there is no way to trace oysters, clams, or mussels back to their harvest origin if customers become ill. Shellfish are consumed raw or lightly cooked and are among the highest-risk foods for norovirus and Vibrio bacteria. When records are missing, an outbreak investigation hits a wall.
The inadequate cooling equipment citation rounds out the temperature picture. A buffet that cannot reliably hold cold food below 41 degrees Fahrenheit, combined with the time-as-public-health-control violation, means food in the temperature danger zone, between 41 and 135 degrees, may have been sitting without proper tracking or documentation of how long it had been there.
The Longer Record
The May 2026 inspection is not an outlier. China Buffet on Fowler Ave has 50 inspections on record and 682 total violations documented across that history. The restaurant has been emergency-closed twice: once in September 2015 for roach activity, and again in February 2020 for both roach and rodent activity. Both times it reopened within a day.
The recent pattern is consistent and severe. In August 2025, inspectors cited 10 high-severity violations and 2 intermediate violations. In March 2025, they cited 8 high-severity violations and 1 intermediate, numbers nearly identical to the May 2026 visit. In January 2024, the inspection produced 10 high-severity violations and 6 intermediate violations.
The two inspections in early 2025 that showed zero high-severity violations, on March 17 and February 11, demonstrate the facility is capable of passing. But those clean visits have not translated into sustained compliance. Within weeks of the March 17 passing inspection, a second visit the same day or shortly after showed 8 high violations, and the pattern resumed.
Fifty inspections over the life of this restaurant. Six hundred eighty-two total violations. Two emergency closures for live pest activity. Eight high-severity violations documented on May 5, 2026.
The restaurant remained open.