H, FL. Toxic chemicals were stored improperly near food at Cilantro Asian Bistro on East Hallandale Beach Boulevard when state inspectors arrived on August 5, one of seven high-severity violations documented during a single visit to the restaurant. The facility was not closed.
The August inspection also found that employees were not reporting symptoms of illness, that handwashing facilities were inadequate, and that workers were using improper hand and arm washing technique. All three violations existed simultaneously in the same kitchen, on the same day.
What Inspectors Found
The shellfish violation added a separate layer of concern. Inspectors cited the restaurant for inadequate shell stock identification and records, meaning there was no reliable documentation of where shellfish served at the restaurant originated. Shellfish, including oysters, clams and mussels, are often consumed raw or lightly cooked, which makes sourcing records critical.
Food contact surfaces were also found not properly cleaned or sanitized. Cutting boards, prep surfaces and similar equipment that touch raw and ready-to-eat food are among the most direct routes for bacteria to move from one food to another.
The restaurant had no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked foods. Customers who are elderly, pregnant, immunocompromised, or very young have no way to make an informed choice about what they are ordering if that advisory is absent.
Two intermediate violations rounded out the inspection: improper sewage or wastewater disposal, and inadequate ventilation and lighting. A sewage violation in a food-preparation environment means the risk of fecal contamination extends beyond a single surface or employee.
What These Violations Mean
The combination of illness-reporting failures and handwashing breakdowns is the most direct path from a sick employee to a sick customer. When a food worker does not report symptoms and handwashing facilities are inadequate, there is no functional barrier between whatever illness that worker is carrying and the plates leaving the kitchen. Norovirus, one of the most common causes of foodborne illness outbreaks, spreads precisely this way.
Improper handwashing technique compounds the problem. Even when a worker uses the sink, pathogens can survive on hands if the technique is wrong. At Cilantro Asian Bistro on August 5, inspectors found all three of these conditions present at once: no symptom reporting, inadequate facilities, and improper technique.
The chemical storage violation carries a different but immediate risk. Cleaning agents and other toxic chemicals stored or labeled improperly near food can contaminate ingredients directly, and mislabeled chemicals have caused acute poisoning when mistaken for food-safe products. This is not a theoretical risk.
Shellfish traceability matters in a specific and serious way: if a customer becomes ill after eating oysters or clams, public health investigators need to know exactly where those shellfish came from to identify and stop the source. Without shell stock records, that trace is impossible.
The Longer Record
The August 5 inspection was not an anomaly. State records show Cilantro Asian Bistro has accumulated 253 violations across 35 inspections on record, a total that reflects years of repeated findings in serious categories.
The most recent inspections before August tell a consistent story. In February 2026, inspectors documented 5 high-severity and 2 intermediate violations. In October 2025, the count reached 8 high-severity and 2 intermediate violations. In September 2024, there were 6 high-severity and 3 intermediate violations. In November 2023, inspectors returned on consecutive days, finding 1 high violation on November 2 and 8 high violations on November 1.
The one inspection in the recent record that showed no high or intermediate violations was in April 2023. Every inspection since has included multiple high-severity findings.
The restaurant has never been emergency-closed in its inspection history, despite this pattern.
Still Open
Florida's inspection system allows facilities to remain open after high-severity violations if inspectors determine the violations do not pose an immediate threat requiring emergency closure. The state's threshold for an emergency closure is a specific and narrow determination.
Cilantro Asian Bistro met that threshold on August 5. Seven high-severity violations, including toxic chemicals near food, employees not reporting illness, inadequate handwashing infrastructure, improperly sanitized food contact surfaces, missing shellfish records, no raw food advisory, and improper sewage disposal, were documented.
The restaurant was not closed.
