WEST PALM BEACH, FL. Back in December 2025, a state inspector walked into a West Palm Beach CVS stocked with retail food and beverages and found no probe thermometer on hand to check whether those products were being kept at safe temperatures.
That single finding, documented on December 31, 2025, captures the central problem at CVS/Pharmacy #10973 on its year-end inspection: a store selling perishable food items was operating without some of the most basic food safety tools and procedures the state requires.
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services recorded 8 total violations. None were classified as priority violations, but two were marked "Pf," meaning priority foundation, the tier reserved for operational practices that support food safety systems rather than pose an immediate contamination risk.
What Inspectors Found
The inspector noted that a "probe thermometer not available during visit to measure foods that require temperature for food safety." For a retail outlet carrying perishable products, that means staff had no way to verify whether refrigerated items, dairy, prepared foods, or anything else requiring cold storage was being held at a safe temperature.
The second priority foundation finding was the absence of written procedures for handling vomit and diarrheal events. The inspector noted that no such written plan was provided during the visit and documented that an industry handout was given to the store on the spot.
In the backroom, the inspector found stained absorbent wood being used as shelving for retail food and beverages in dry storage. Absorbent materials in food storage areas are a recognized problem because they cannot be properly sanitized, meaning bacteria and mold can accumulate in the surface over time and potentially transfer to packaging sitting on top of them.
The inspector also found a motored scooter stored in the dry storage area, which the report noted was "not necessary for operation." A personal mobility device has no place among food and beverage inventory, and its presence raises questions about what else might be sharing that storage space.
The store's food permit was not displayed during the visit, a violation that is straightforward but significant. Permit display is required so that customers can verify a facility is licensed to sell food.
None of the 8 violations were corrected on site during the December 31 inspection.
What These Violations Mean
The absence of a probe thermometer is not a paperwork problem. CVS locations classified as Minor Outlets with Perishables carry products that can become unsafe if temperature controls fail, including dairy items, refrigerated beverages, and any prepared or packaged foods requiring cold storage. Without a thermometer, staff at this location had no reliable method to confirm those products were being stored at or below the required 41 degrees Fahrenheit. A customer buying a refrigerated item had no assurance that anyone had checked.
The missing vomit and diarrheal cleanup procedure matters for a different reason. Norovirus, one of the most common causes of foodborne illness, spreads rapidly through contaminated surfaces when a vomiting or diarrheal event is not cleaned up correctly. Written procedures exist because the cleanup process requires specific steps, specific products, and specific protective equipment. Without them, a staff member responding to an incident in a retail food environment may inadvertently spread contamination rather than contain it. The inspector provided a handout at the time of the visit, but the store arrived at that December 31 inspection without one already in place.
The stained absorbent wood shelving in dry storage is a contact-surface violation. State rules require food-contact and food-adjacent surfaces to be smooth, nonabsorbent, and cleanable. Wood that has already stained is wood that has already absorbed something, and it cannot be reliably sanitized. Food and beverage packaging resting on that surface is at risk of picking up whatever has accumulated in it.
The lack of a certified food protection manager ties all of these findings together. A certified manager is trained specifically to recognize and prevent the kinds of gaps documented here, including temperature monitoring, sanitation procedures, and proper storage practices. Their absence at this location is not incidental to the other violations; it may explain them.
The Longer Record
The inspection history for this CVS location is short. The December 31, 2025 inspection is the earliest record on file for this address, and the only subsequent record is a focused inspection conducted on January 26, 2026, which found zero violations.
That follow-up result is notable. A focused inspection is typically narrower in scope than a full sanitation review, targeting specific items flagged in a prior visit rather than evaluating the full operation. The clean result on January 26 suggests the store addressed at least some of the cited issues after the December 31 findings.
What the record does not show is whether the two priority foundation violations, the missing thermometer and the missing cleanup procedures, were resolved before the focused inspection or only after the inspector returned. None of the 8 violations were corrected during the original December 31 visit itself.
The store had no certified food protection manager as of December 31, 2025.