JACKSONVILLE, FL. In April 2026, state inspectors walked into Delicias Colombianas on Blanding Boulevard and found food coming from unapproved or unknown sources, a violation that means ingredients served to customers had bypassed USDA and FDA safety inspections entirely, with no way to trace them if someone got sick.

That was one of eight high-severity violations documented at the suite 19 location on April 17. The restaurant was not closed.

What Inspectors Found

1HIGHFood from unapproved sourceNo traceability
2HIGHNo employee health policyDisease transmission risk
3HIGHEmployee not reporting illnessOutbreak enabler
4HIGHImproper handwashing techniquePathogen transfer
5HIGHInadequate handwashing facilitiesInfrastructure failure
6HIGHFood contact surfaces not sanitizedCross-contamination
7HIGHToxic chemicals improperly storedPoisoning risk
8HIGHNo person in chargeManagement failure
9INTImproper sewage disposalFecal contamination risk
10INTInadequate cooling equipmentTemperature failure

The inspector also documented that no person in charge was present or performing duties during the visit. That finding sits alongside two other high-severity violations that together form a direct chain toward a potential outbreak: no written employee health policy and employees not reporting symptoms of illness.

Inspectors further cited improper handwashing technique and inadequate handwashing facilities, meaning that even when employees attempted to wash their hands, the infrastructure and execution were both failing at the same time. Food contact surfaces were not properly cleaned or sanitized. Toxic chemicals were improperly stored or labeled near food.

Among the seven intermediate violations: improper sewage or wastewater disposal, inadequate cooling and cold-holding equipment, multi-use utensils not properly cleaned, single-use items being reused, inadequate ventilation and lighting, improper use of wiping cloths, and inadequate or improperly maintained toilet facilities.

What These Violations Mean

Food from unapproved sources is not a paperwork problem. When ingredients enter a restaurant outside the regulated supply chain, there is no traceability if a customer gets sick. Inspectors cannot identify the farm, the processor, or the distribution point. Health investigators trying to trace an outbreak have nowhere to start.

The combination of no employee health policy and employees not reporting illness symptoms is how multi-victim outbreaks begin. Norovirus, which causes roughly 20 million illnesses in the United States each year, spreads most efficiently through food workers who handle food while sick and have no formal requirement to disclose their symptoms. Without a written policy, there is no mechanism to keep a sick employee out of the kitchen.

Improper handwashing technique compounds every other violation on the list. Studies show that even an attempted handwash using incorrect technique leaves significant pathogen loads on the hands. At Delicias Colombianas in April 2026, inspectors found both the facilities and the technique were inadequate, meaning the primary barrier against contamination was effectively absent.

Improperly stored toxic chemicals near food create a direct poisoning pathway. Mislabeled or misplaced cleaning agents can contaminate food through contact, splash, or mistaken use. Combined with food contact surfaces that were not properly cleaned or sanitized, the April 17 inspection documented a facility where contamination could enter the food supply from multiple directions simultaneously.

The Longer Record

The April 2026 inspection was not a departure from the norm at this restaurant. It was the worst single inspection in recent memory, but the pattern behind it stretches back years.

State records show 28 inspections on file for the Blanding Boulevard location, with 230 total violations accumulated across that history. The facility has never been emergency-closed.

Delicias Colombianas: Recent Inspection Pattern

April 17, 20268 high-severity, 7 intermediate violations. Food from unapproved source. No employee health policy. No person in charge.
September 16, 20256 high-severity, 2 intermediate violations.
April 21, 20256 high-severity, 5 intermediate violations.
September 25, 20242 high-severity, 3 intermediate violations.
March 5, 20242 high-severity, 4 intermediate violations.
May 31, 20237 high-severity, 3 intermediate violations.
January 30, 20234 high-severity, 3 intermediate violations.

The six most recent inspections before April 2026 each produced at least two high-severity violations, and three of those six produced six or more. The restaurant logged 6 high-severity violations in September 2025, then 6 again in April 2025, then 8 in April 2026. The direction of that trend is not ambiguous.

The May 2023 inspection produced 7 high-severity violations. The April 2026 inspection produced 8. In the three years between those two visits, the facility never recorded a clean inspection.

Still Open

After the April 17, 2026 inspection, with eight high-severity violations on the report and food of unknown origin in the kitchen, Delicias Colombianas on Blanding Boulevard remained open for business.