DE LEON SPRINGS, FL. Inspectors visiting Country Line Saloon at 900 Spring Garden Ranch Rd on May 14 found no written employee health policy, no system for workers to report illness symptoms, and toxic chemicals stored improperly near food, all in the same inspection. The facility was not closed.
The visit produced seven high-severity violations and two intermediate ones. Under Florida's inspection framework, high-severity violations are those most directly linked to foodborne illness outbreaks. Country Line Saloon had all seven active at once.
What Inspectors Found
The illness reporting violations are the ones that most directly put customers at risk. The inspector found no written employee health policy and documented that workers were not reporting symptoms of illness. Those two findings together describe a kitchen where a sick employee has no formal obligation to stay home and no documented system requiring them to say anything at all.
Person in charge was also cited as absent or not performing duties. CDC data cited in the inspection record shows establishments without active managerial control have three times more critical violations. On May 14, Country Line Saloon had no functioning managerial control and no illness policy, simultaneously.
Toxic chemicals were found improperly stored or labeled. The inspection record does not specify which chemicals or exactly where they were found, but the violation category covers chemicals stored near food, improperly labeled containers, and conditions that create acute poisoning risk through cross-contamination.
The facility was also cited for misusing time as a public health control. When an establishment uses time rather than temperature to manage food safety, it means food is permitted to sit in the temperature danger zone between 41 and 135 degrees Fahrenheit, but only within a strict, documented time window. The inspector found those procedures were not being followed properly.
What These Violations Mean
The combination of no employee health policy and no illness symptom reporting is, according to public health data, the single most common pathway to multi-victim outbreaks. Norovirus, which causes roughly 20 million illnesses in the United States annually, spreads almost entirely through food workers who prepare meals while infected. A written health policy and a reporting requirement are the primary structural barriers against that happening. Country Line Saloon had neither in place on May 14.
The consumer advisory violation matters specifically for customers who are pregnant, elderly, immunocompromised, or very young. When a menu includes raw or undercooked items, state law requires a visible advisory so those customers can make an informed decision. Without it, they have no way of knowing a dish carries elevated risk.
The improper chemical storage violation sits in a different category but is no less serious. Chemicals stored near food or in unlabeled containers can contaminate a meal without any visible sign. A customer would have no way of knowing it happened.
Reusing single-use items, one of the two intermediate violations, compounds these risks. Gloves, foil, and disposable utensils are designed for one use because repeated contact transfers bacteria and residue. Reusing them negates their purpose entirely.
The Longer Record
Country Line Saloon has four inspections on record in Volusia County. That is a short history, but it already shows a pattern that should concern anyone who ate there in the past year.
The September 12, 2025 inspection produced exactly the same violation count as May 14, 2026: seven high-severity violations and two intermediate ones. The facility was not closed after that inspection either. Two weeks later, on September 26, 2025, a follow-up visit found zero high-severity violations, suggesting the problems were addressed. But eight months later, the same severity profile returned.
The April 2025 inspection found no high-severity violations and only one intermediate citation. That means the facility has oscillated between clean inspections and inspections with seven high-severity violations, twice now, without ever triggering an emergency closure.
The 24 total violations across four inspections are concentrated almost entirely in two visits, both of which produced identical high-severity tallies. That is not a facility gradually accumulating minor citations. That is a facility that passes, then fails hard, then passes again.
Open for Business
State inspectors documented seven high-severity violations at Country Line Saloon on May 14, 2026. They documented the same number on September 12, 2025.
The facility has never been emergency-closed.
It remained open after the May 14 inspection.