NEW SMYRNA BEACH, FL. Toxic chemicals were stored improperly near food at Ciao Bella Bistro and Martini Bar on South Pine Street when state inspectors arrived on July 29, one of six high-severity violations documented that day at the popular beach-town restaurant. The facility was not closed.
The inspection record for that single visit runs to six high-priority citations and two intermediate ones. Among the findings: no written employee health policy, no system for employees to report illness symptoms, improper use of time as a public health control, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked menu items, and two separate violations involving toxic substances stored or labeled incorrectly. Inspectors also found multi-use utensils that were not properly cleaned and toilet facilities that were inadequate or improperly maintained.
What Inspectors Found
The two chemical violations stand out. State inspectors cited the restaurant separately for improperly stored or labeled toxic chemicals and for improper identification, storage, or use of toxic substances. Two distinct chemical-handling failures in a single inspection at a restaurant that serves food and drinks.
The illness-reporting failures compound the concern. Inspectors found no written employee health policy and no mechanism for employees to flag their own symptoms before handling food. Both are classified as high-priority violations under state food safety rules.
The missing consumer advisory is a separate problem. Ciao Bella's menu includes items that can be served raw or undercooked, and as of the July 29 inspection, diners were not being warned of that in writing.
What These Violations Mean
The two chemical violations are the most immediately alarming findings from this inspection. When toxic chemicals are stored near food or are mislabeled, a single misidentification by a kitchen worker can result in acute poisoning. The risk is not theoretical: chemical contamination from improperly stored cleaning agents has caused mass-casualty incidents at restaurants across the country. Two separate citations for chemical handling at one facility in one visit suggests the problem is not a single misplaced bottle.
The illness-reporting violations operate differently but are equally serious. Norovirus, the pathogen responsible for the majority of foodborne illness outbreaks in restaurant settings, spreads almost entirely through infected food workers who continue working while symptomatic. A written health policy and a clear reporting system are the primary tools a restaurant has to stop that chain of transmission. Ciao Bella had neither documented on July 29.
The time-as-public-health-control violation means the restaurant was using time, rather than refrigeration temperature, to keep food safe during service, and was not doing it correctly. When that system fails, food sits in the bacterial growth range, between 41 and 135 degrees, for longer than the rules permit, without any temperature record to show how long. The missing consumer advisory for raw or undercooked items means customers with compromised immune systems, pregnant women, the elderly, and young children were ordering from a menu without the warning they are entitled to receive.
The Longer Record
The July 29 inspection is not an outlier. State records show Ciao Bella Bistro has accumulated 422 violations across 45 inspections on file. That is an average of more than nine violations per inspection visit over the life of the record.
The recent history is particularly dense. Two days after the July 29 inspection, on July 31, inspectors returned and found five high-severity violations and one intermediate. A follow-up on August 7 produced four more high-severity citations. In January 2026, a single inspection documented 11 high-severity violations and four intermediate ones, one of the heaviest single-visit totals in the restaurant's recent history.
The pattern goes back further. In July 2025, inspectors visited twice within two days. The first visit, on July 14, produced 10 high-severity violations and three intermediate ones. The second, on July 15, found four high-severity violations and two intermediate ones. The restaurant was not closed after either visit.
Ciao Bella was emergency-closed once, in February 2019, for rodent activity. It was allowed to reopen the same day. In the seven years since that closure, the facility has continued to accumulate high-severity violations at a rate that has not visibly declined.
Still Open
State inspectors documented six high-severity violations at Ciao Bella Bistro and Martini Bar on July 29. They included two separate failures involving toxic chemicals, no written policy requiring sick employees to stay out of the kitchen, and no warning to customers ordering raw or undercooked food.
The restaurant was not closed.
