MIAMI, FL. A state inspector visiting Coyo Taco at 2320 NW 2nd Ave on August 6, 2026 found that food was not being cooked to required minimum temperatures, a violation that means Salmonella in underprepared poultry can survive and reach a customer's plate.
That was one of eight high-severity violations documented in a single inspection. The restaurant was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The August inspection produced eight high-severity citations and one intermediate, for a total of nine violations in a single visit. The high-severity list covered nearly every major category of food safety failure: cooking temperatures, handwashing, surface sanitation, chemical storage, employee illness reporting, and menu disclosure.
Inspectors noted that toxic chemicals were improperly stored or labeled near food, a condition that can cause acute poisoning through contamination or mislabeling. They also found that the restaurant had no written employee health policy and that workers were not reporting symptoms of illness, two separate violations that inspectors treat as distinct failures.
The time-as-public-health-control violation adds another layer. When a kitchen uses time rather than temperature to keep food safe, there are strict written procedures required. Inspectors found those procedures were not being properly followed, meaning food was allowed to sit in the temperature danger zone, between 41 and 135 degrees Fahrenheit, without adequate tracking.
What These Violations Mean
The undercooked food violation is the most direct threat to anyone who ate at Coyo Taco around the time of this inspection. Salmonella in poultry survives below 165 degrees Fahrenheit. A kitchen that is not reaching required minimum temperatures is serving food that can make customers seriously ill, and the customer has no way to know.
The consumer advisory violation compounds that risk. State rules require restaurants that serve raw or undercooked items to post a written warning so that customers, particularly pregnant women, elderly diners, young children, and people with compromised immune systems, can make an informed choice. No advisory means those customers were not warned.
The combination of no employee health policy and no illness-symptom reporting is what epidemiologists call an outbreak setup. Food workers who don't know they're required to report illness, or who work in a kitchen with no written policy telling them to stay home, are the documented primary cause of multi-victim Norovirus outbreaks. The two violations together mean there was no system in place to stop a sick employee from handling food.
Improper handwashing technique is distinct from not washing hands at all. Inspectors flagged the technique itself, meaning workers were going through the motion of handwashing but not removing pathogens. Studies show that incorrect technique, too brief, skipping between fingers, not using soap long enough, leaves hands nearly as contaminated as unwashed hands.
The Longer Record
The August 2026 inspection is not an isolated event. State records show 28 inspections on file for this location, with 182 total violations accumulated across that history. The facility has never been emergency-closed.
The pattern of high-severity citations runs consistently through recent years. Inspectors found six high-severity violations in a single visit in July 2024, three high-severity violations in March 2024, and three more in a follow-up visit the same month. Two separate inspections on the same date in September 2025 produced five high-severity violations in one and two high-severity violations in the other.
The August 2026 inspection, with eight high-severity citations, is the worst single-visit total in the recent record provided. It follows a stretch in which the restaurant has logged high-severity violations in nearly every inspection for at least two years.
The Longer Record in Numbers
Coyo Taco: Recent High-Severity Violation History
None of those prior inspections resulted in an emergency closure. The 182 total violations across 28 inspections average out to more than six violations per inspection across the life of the record.
The August 6 inspection ended. Coyo Taco on NW 2nd Avenue was not shut down. It remained open to customers.
