SPRING HILL, FL. Inspectors visiting Colombia Que Chimba Cafe on Deltona Boulevard on August 5, 2026 found food sourced from unapproved or unknown suppliers, food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, and no person in charge present or performing duties. The cafe logged 10 high-severity violations and 5 intermediate violations that day. It was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The food sourcing violation is among the most serious on the list. Inspectors documented that food came from unapproved or unknown sources, meaning it bypassed federal safety inspections entirely. If a customer gets sick, there is no supply chain record to trace.
Inspectors also cited food not cooked to required minimum temperatures. Undercooked poultry can harbor Salmonella at levels sufficient to cause illness. The citation sat alongside a separate finding that parasite destruction procedures were not followed, a violation relevant when a menu includes fish or pork.
The food contact surfaces citation compounds the cooking violations. Surfaces that are not properly cleaned and sanitized transfer bacteria from one food to the next, meaning a pathogen that survives undercooking can move to food that never gets cooked at all.
No person in charge was present or performing duties during the inspection. That detail matters because it points to a systemic condition, not an isolated mistake.
The Violations in Full
Beyond the sourcing and cooking findings, inspectors documented that at least one employee was not reporting symptoms of illness. They also cited improper hand and arm washing technique, meaning employees were making handwashing attempts but not eliminating pathogens from their hands.
Food in poor condition, mislabeled, or adulterated was also cited, alongside a finding that time as a public health control was not properly used. When a facility uses time rather than temperature to keep food safe, strict documentation and disposal protocols apply. The record shows those protocols were not followed.
There was no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked foods. Without that notice, a pregnant customer, an elderly diner, or anyone with a compromised immune system has no way to know they are being served food that carries elevated risk.
The intermediate violations included multi-use utensils not properly cleaned, single-use items being reused, improper use of wiping cloths, inadequate ventilation and lighting, and inadequate or improperly maintained toilet facilities. Wiping cloths that are not properly sanitized between uses carry bacteria from one surface to another across an entire shift.
What These Violations Mean
Food from unapproved sources is not a paperwork problem. The inspection and certification systems that licensed suppliers go through exist specifically to catch contamination before it reaches a kitchen. When a restaurant sources food outside those systems, there is no record of where the food came from, how it was handled, or whether it was tested. If a customer becomes ill, investigators have nothing to trace.
The combination of undercooked food and failed parasite destruction procedures is particularly acute. Salmonella in poultry requires an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit to be destroyed. Parasites in fish, including Anisakis, require either sufficient cooking heat or verified commercial freezing at specific temperatures for a specific duration. Neither requirement was met at Colombia Que Chimba Cafe on August 5.
The illness reporting failure is a direct transmission risk. Food workers who do not report symptoms of norovirus, Hepatitis A, or Salmonella continue handling food while infectious. Norovirus can survive on surfaces for days and requires only a small number of viral particles to cause illness in a healthy adult.
The absence of a manager on duty is not a standalone violation. CDC data cited in the inspection record indicates that facilities without active managerial control have three times as many critical violations as those with supervision in place. At Colombia Que Chimba Cafe, that absence coincided with ten high-severity findings in a single visit.
The Longer Record
Colombia Que Chimba Cafe has three inspections on record and 25 total violations across all of them. The facility has never been emergency-closed.
The inspection record does show a sharp escalation. A February 2026 visit produced one high-severity violation and one intermediate violation. The August 5 inspection produced ten high-severity violations and five intermediate violations, a tenfold increase in the most serious category in under six months.
The follow-up inspection on August 6, the day after the egregious findings, showed one intermediate violation and zero high-severity violations. That single-day turnaround is notable, but it does not erase what inspectors documented the day before.
The cafe had never accumulated this many high-severity findings in a single inspection in its recorded history. It remains open.
