ALVA, FL. Back in February 2026, state inspectors walked into Dick's Alva Market, a convenience store on the edge of Lee County, and found opened packages of deli meat and cheese sitting in the food service area without a single date label on them.
That finding, logged on February 2, 2026, was one of three violations documented during a Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services sanitation inspection. The store ultimately met inspection requirements, but the path to that outcome included problems inspectors consider priority food safety concerns.
What Inspectors Found
The deli labeling problem was the most serious finding. The inspector noted "opened packages of deli meat and cheeses without date label" in the food service area. Under state food safety rules, once a package of ready-to-eat deli meat or cheese is opened, the clock starts on how long it can safely be held, and that clock has to be visible to anyone working with it.
The handwashing problem was found in the ware wash area, near the three-compartment sink. The inspector noted "soap and paper towels or other hand drying device unavailable at hand sink near 3-compartment sink." That is a priority foundation violation, meaning it relates directly to the conditions that make safe food handling possible.
The third violation was a repeat. The inspector found a "rolling working container of flour without label" in the kitchen. The word repeat in an inspection report means the same problem was documented in at least one prior inspection. The flour container had no label identifying its contents.
All three violations were corrected on site during the inspection visit, according to the report.
What These Violations Mean
The deli labeling violation carries real consequences for anyone who buys prepared food at the store. Ready-to-eat deli meats and cheeses are time and temperature control for safety foods, meaning they can support bacterial growth if held too long or at the wrong temperature. The date label is not a formality. It is the mechanism that tells staff when a product must be discarded. Without it, there is no way to know whether the meat or cheese in the case was opened that morning or several days earlier.
The handwashing sink violation compounds that risk. A sink stocked with soap and paper towels is the most basic barrier between contamination and the food being handled. In the ware wash area, where staff move between dirty and clean equipment, a non-functional handwashing station removes that barrier entirely. The inspector flagged it as a priority foundation violation precisely because it undermines every other food safety practice in the building.
The unlabeled flour container is a lower-stakes problem on its own, but its repeat status changes the picture. When an inspector marks a violation as repeat, it means the store was told about this specific problem before and did not sustain the fix. A container of white powder with no label creates the possibility of a staff member confusing ingredients, but more broadly, it signals that the labeling practices at the store have needed correction more than once.
The Longer Record
The February 2026 inspection report does not include a count of prior inspections on record for Dick's Alva Market, so the full depth of the facility's inspection history is not available from this filing. What the record does show is that the repeat violation flag on the flour container means this was not the first time inspectors had to address that specific issue at this location.
The store met sanitation requirements at the conclusion of the February 2 visit, which is the outcome reflected in the inspection type listed in the state's records. That classification means the facility satisfied inspectors by the end of the visit, not that it was in compliance when inspectors arrived.
The repeat violation is the thread worth watching. A single unlabeled container is a minor infraction. The same unlabeled container appearing again after a prior correction notice is a different kind of finding. It suggests that whatever fix was put in place after the first citation did not hold.
Corrected on Site, but Not Without a Pattern
Each of the three violations was corrected during the February 2 inspection. The deli meats and cheeses were labeled with the date opened. Soap and paper towels were provided at the handwashing sink. The flour container was properly labeled with the common name of the food item.
For shoppers who buy prepared or packaged deli items at the store, the corrected-on-site notation means that by the time inspectors left, the specific products in question had been addressed. What it does not answer is how long the deli items had been sitting without date labels before the inspector arrived.
The repeat flag on the flour container, logged and corrected once again in February 2026, remained part of the store's inspection record.