HOLIDAY, FL. State inspectors visited China House Chen Inc. on US Highway 19 on May 15 and found that the restaurant had no documented procedures for destroying parasites in fish, meaning customers who ordered dishes containing raw or lightly cooked fish could have been exposed to Anisakis, tapeworm, or other parasites that proper freezing or cooking is designed to eliminate. The restaurant was not closed.

Inspectors cited six high-severity violations and one intermediate violation during that single visit. The facility remained open and continued serving customers.

What Inspectors Found

1HIGHParasite destruction procedures not followedSurvival risk in fish and pork
2HIGHInadequate shell stock identification/recordsNo shellfish traceability
3HIGHFood contact surfaces not properly cleaned/sanitizedCross-contamination vehicle
4HIGHNo consumer advisory for raw/undercooked foodsNo warning for at-risk diners
5HIGHImproper hand and arm washing techniquePathogens remain after wash attempt
6HIGHNo employee health policySick workers transmit Norovirus
7INTERMEDIATEMulti-use utensils not properly cleanedBacterial biofilm risk

The parasite destruction failure was not the only food safety concern inspectors documented. Records show the restaurant also lacked adequate shell stock identification, meaning there was no way to trace where its oysters, clams, or mussels came from. If a customer became ill from contaminated shellfish, investigators would have no records to follow.

Food contact surfaces, the cutting boards, prep counters, and other surfaces that directly touch ingredients, were not properly cleaned or sanitized. Those surfaces are a primary transfer point for bacteria moving from raw proteins to ready-to-eat food.

The restaurant also had no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked items. That notice is the only mechanism that warns elderly diners, pregnant women, and people with compromised immune systems that certain dishes carry elevated risk.

Employees were documented using improper handwashing technique. Inspectors also found no written employee health policy, the baseline document that instructs workers to stay home when sick and that creates a record of those instructions. The intermediate violation involved multi-use utensils that were not properly cleaned.

What These Violations Mean

The parasite destruction failure is among the most direct physical risks in the inspection record. Fish served raw or lightly cooked, including dishes common in Chinese restaurant menus such as sushi-adjacent preparations or lightly seared proteins, must be frozen to specific temperatures for specific durations to kill parasites like Anisakis and tapeworm. Without documentation that this process was followed, there is no way to confirm customers were protected.

The shellfish traceability failure compounds that risk. Oysters, clams, and mussels are filter feeders that concentrate bacteria and viruses from surrounding water. State rules require shell stock tags to be kept so that a contaminated harvest can be traced back to its source if people get sick. Without those records, an outbreak investigation at China House Chen would hit a dead end at the kitchen door.

Improperly cleaned food contact surfaces are how bacteria like Salmonella and E. coli move from raw meat to vegetables or cooked food without any visible sign. The violation is not about a dirty-looking kitchen. It is about invisible transfer happening on surfaces that appear clean.

The missing employee health policy and the improper handwashing technique work together in a dangerous way. A sick employee who does not know the rules, and who does not wash hands correctly even when making the attempt, is a direct transmission route for Norovirus, which can infect dozens of customers from a single food handler.

The Longer Record

China House Chen Inc. Inspection History

May 20266 high-severity violations. Parasite destruction, shellfish records, food contact surfaces, no consumer advisory. Facility remained open.
December 20254 high-severity, 1 intermediate violation.
April 20252 high-severity, 1 intermediate violation.
January 20255 high-severity, 3 intermediate violations.
November 202311 high-severity, 3 intermediate violations. Single highest-violation inspection on record.
May 20239 high-severity violations.
December 20229 high-severity, 2 intermediate violations.

The May 2026 inspection was not an anomaly. State records show 25 inspections on file for China House Chen Inc., with 257 total violations accumulated across that history. The restaurant has never been emergency-closed.

High-severity violations have appeared in every inspection on record going back through at least 2022. The worst single visit on record came in November 2023, when inspectors documented 11 high-severity and 3 intermediate violations. The restaurant was not closed after that visit either.

The pattern across inspections is not random. High-severity citations have appeared in eight consecutive inspections spanning more than three years. The specific categories shift visit to visit, but the severity level does not.

The restaurant has accumulated an average of more than 10 violations per inspection across its full history. It has never triggered an emergency closure order.

After the May 15 inspection, with six high-severity violations documented including no procedures to protect customers from parasites in fish, China House Chen Inc. on US Highway 19 in Holiday remained open for business.