WALDO, FL. Back in January 2026, state inspectors visiting Choice Food Mart on a permit compliance check found a direct connection between the sewage system and the drain line of the warewashing sink, a plumbing flaw that inspectors flagged as a priority-foundation concern at the small convenience store and deli on the edge of Alachua County.
The January 20 inspection was triggered because the store had been operating without a valid food permit. Inspectors found 11 violations in total.
What Inspectors Found
The sewage connection was the most structurally serious item on the list. Inspectors documented that the drain line from the warewashing sink had a direct connection to the sewage system, a configuration that can allow contaminated wastewater to flow back toward the area where dishes and food-contact surfaces are cleaned.
At the deli area's handwashing sink, there was no hand cleanser available. In the restroom, there was no means for drying hands. Both were corrected on the spot: staff provided soap at the deli sink and paper towels in the restroom.
The store also had a single set of tongs serving two separate containers of self-dispensed pickled foods at the self-service counter. Inspectors noted the problem; a second set of tongs was provided before the inspection concluded.
The entry doors told a different story about the building itself. Inspectors wrote that gaps at both front entry doors were large enough to expose daylight, a condition that creates an open path for insects and rodents into the retail area. A microwave oven at the self-service food and beverage counter had corrosion on the top underside of its cavity, a surface that contacts food and steam from items customers heat there.
In the back of the store, the handwashing sink in the restroom was not sealed to the wall, the restroom door was not self-closing, and floor-wall coving was peeling away from the wall. Inside an overstock food storage chest freezer, inspectors found an accumulation of ice buildup. Outside on the south side of the building, the mop sink faucet was damaged; the inspector gave the owner 30 days to make that correction.
The store also lacked written procedures for employees to follow when someone vomits or has a diarrheal event on the premises. The inspector provided a guidance document.
What These Violations Mean
The sewage connection at the warewashing sink is the kind of plumbing defect that most shoppers would never see but carries real consequences. A direct connection between a drain and the sewage system eliminates the air gap that prevents sewage gases and contaminated water from flowing backward into equipment used to clean food-contact surfaces. At a store that operates a deli counter and self-service food area, that sink is a critical control point.
The missing hand soap at the deli handwashing sink compounds that concern. Employees preparing or handling food at the deli counter had no hand cleanser available at the sink designated for handwashing. A sink without soap is functionally unavailable for the purpose it is supposed to serve.
The gaps in the front doors are a persistent structural issue. Inspectors specifically noted that daylight was visible through both entry doors, meaning the building envelope offers no meaningful barrier to insects or rodents. For a store that sells packaged foods, deli items, and self-service foods, that is not a cosmetic problem.
The absence of written vomit and diarrhea response procedures sounds procedural, but it is not trivial. Norovirus spreads efficiently through improper cleanup of these events in food retail environments. Without a written protocol, employees have no established guidance for containing contamination, which surfaces to disinfect, or what protective equipment to use.
The Longer Record
The January inspection was not the only time state inspectors have visited Choice Food Mart in recent months. A focused follow-up inspection conducted on March 12, 2026, found one violation, and that violation was a repeat.
The presence of a repeat violation on a follow-up inspection means that at least one of the problems documented in January had not been permanently corrected by the time inspectors returned. The focused inspection format is typically narrower in scope than a full compliance review, so it does not capture everything a standard inspection would.
The store's inspection history at this location spans at least two documented visits in the FDACS record. That is a short window, and the January inspection was specifically triggered by the store operating without a valid food permit, which means the compliance baseline at the time of that visit was already in question.
The sewage drain connection at the warewashing sink was not among the violations corrected on site during the January visit. Whether it was addressed before the March follow-up is not reflected in the available data.