GLEN ST MARY, FL. Inspectors visiting a Baker County Dairy Queen in April found that the restaurant had not followed parasite destruction procedures for fish on the menu, meaning customers who ordered those items may have been exposed to live parasites including Anisakis and tapeworm.
That finding was one of six high-severity violations documented at Dairy Queen Grill and Chill on US Highway 90 during an April 24, 2026 inspection. The restaurant was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The toxic chemical violation adds a separate layer of risk. Inspectors found chemicals improperly stored or labeled near food, a condition that can cause acute poisoning if a mislabeled container is mistaken for a food-safe product or if a chemical contaminates a food surface.
Food contact surfaces were also cited as not properly cleaned or sanitized. Cutting boards and prep surfaces that carry bacteria from one food item to the next are among the most direct routes for cross-contamination in a commercial kitchen.
Inspectors also found that employees were using improper hand and arm washing technique. That violation is distinct from simply skipping handwashing: even when a handwashing attempt is made, incorrect technique leaves pathogens on the skin.
The restaurant was additionally cited for having no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked foods, and for inadequate shell stock identification records for shellfish on the premises. A seventh violation, classified as intermediate, found that multi-use utensils were not properly cleaned.
What These Violations Mean
The parasite destruction failure is the violation most likely to cause direct physical harm to a customer who ate there. Proper freezing or cooking protocols are designed to kill organisms like Anisakis, a roundworm found in fish, and Trichinella, found in pork. When those protocols are skipped or not followed correctly, the parasites survive and can infect anyone who consumes the food.
The shell stock traceability violation compounds that risk. Shellfish, including oysters, clams, and mussels, are consumed raw or lightly cooked and are among the highest-risk foods in any restaurant environment. Without proper identification records, there is no way to trace a contaminated batch if a customer becomes ill. An outbreak investigation would have no starting point.
The improper handwashing technique and unsanitized food contact surface violations work together. Bacteria transferred from unwashed or improperly washed hands onto a cutting board or prep surface can survive for hours and spread to every item subsequently prepared on that surface. These are not paperwork violations. They are the conditions under which foodborne illness clusters begin.
The chemical storage citation is a less common finding and a more immediate one. Improperly labeled chemicals stored near food represent a contamination risk that can cause poisoning without any detectable change in the food's appearance or smell.
The Longer Record
The April 2026 inspection was not an outlier. State records show the Glen St. Mary Dairy Queen has accumulated 103 total violations across 16 inspections on record.
The pattern of serious violations stretches back through 2024 and 2025 without interruption. The August 2025 inspection produced six high-severity violations and four intermediate violations. The February 2025 inspection produced five high-severity and five intermediate violations. The August 2024 inspection produced six high-severity and three intermediate violations, and the January 2024 inspection produced four high-severity and two intermediate violations.
That is four consecutive semi-annual inspections, from January 2024 through August 2025, each producing at least four high-severity violations, before the April 2026 inspection matched the highest single-visit total in that run.
There were two inspections in late 2023, in October and December, that produced zero high-severity violations. Those results now look like the exception. The location has never been emergency-closed.
Still Open
Florida's emergency closure authority is triggered when inspectors determine that conditions pose an immediate threat to public health. Six high-severity violations at this location on April 24, 2026 did not meet that threshold, according to state records.
The restaurant continued operating after the inspection.
The April findings were not the worst single-visit record at this location. The August 2025 and August 2024 inspections each produced six high-severity violations as well, alongside more intermediate violations than the April 2026 visit. Both of those inspections also resulted in no closure.
Across all 16 inspections on record, the facility has never been ordered shut down.