CORAL SPRINGS, FL. Workers at Don Pan on Wiles Road had no written policy requiring sick employees to report their symptoms to management, according to a state inspection conducted September 30, 2026. That single gap, inspectors noted, was one of seven high-severity violations documented that day at the Coral Springs location. The restaurant was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The inspector found no person in charge present or adequately performing supervisory duties. According to CDC data cited in the inspection records, establishments lacking active managerial control accumulate critical violations at three times the rate of those with it.
Three of the seven high-severity violations were directly tied to illness prevention. There was no written employee health policy. Employees were not reporting symptoms of illness. And handwashing technique was documented as improper, meaning that even when workers attempted to wash their hands, the method used was insufficient to remove pathogens.
The remaining high-severity violations pointed to food sourcing and process failures. Shellfish identification records were inadequate, meaning inspectors could not trace where the shellfish on hand had come from. Required procedures for specialized food processes were not being followed. And there was no consumer advisory posted to warn customers about raw or undercooked items on the menu.
What These Violations Mean
The cluster of illness-related violations at Don Pan on September 30 is the kind of combination that public health officials describe as a direct pathway to a multi-person outbreak. Norovirus, which causes roughly 20 million illnesses in the United States each year, spreads most efficiently when sick food workers handle ready-to-eat food without restriction. The absence of a written employee health policy means there is no documented standard for when a worker must stay home or report symptoms. The additional finding that employees were not reporting symptoms confirms the policy gap translated into actual behavior on the floor.
Improper handwashing technique compounds that risk. A worker who attempts to wash their hands but uses an inadequate method does not remove the pathogens that cause illness. Studies have found that technique failures, not just skipping handwashing entirely, account for a significant share of contamination events in food service settings.
The shellfish records violation carries a separate and specific danger. Shellfish including oysters, clams, and mussels are consumed raw or lightly cooked, and they concentrate bacteria and viruses from the water they were harvested in. Without proper identification tags and receiving records, there is no way to trace shellfish back to their source if a customer becomes ill. That traceability gap is what prevents a single sick customer from becoming a documented outbreak.
The absence of a consumer advisory for raw or undercooked menu items means that elderly customers, pregnant women, young children, and anyone with a compromised immune system had no written warning that certain items on the menu carried elevated risk.
The Longer Record
The September 30 inspection was not the first time Don Pan on Wiles Road accumulated serious violations. State records show 14 inspections on file for this location, with 62 total violations across that history. The facility has never been emergency-closed.
The pattern of high-severity violations stretches back at least three years. Inspectors documented three high-severity violations in February 2023, one in July 2023, two each in February and December 2024, three in August 2025, four in December 2025, and seven on September 30, 2026. That trajectory is not flat. The number of high-severity violations cited per visit has increased over time, not decreased.
The follow-up inspection conducted October 1, 2026, the day after the September 30 visit, recorded one remaining high-severity violation. That single follow-up number does not reflect the full picture of what was found the day before.
The only inspection in the available record that produced zero violations of any severity was January 12, 2024. Every other documented visit found at least one high-severity problem.
Still Open
Florida allows inspectors to close a food service establishment on the spot when conditions pose an immediate threat to public health. The threshold includes things like no running water, sewage backup, pest infestation, or a combination of violations that together create imminent danger.
Seven high-severity violations, including no employee illness policy, unreported sick workers, improper handwashing, and untraced shellfish, did not meet that threshold at Don Pan on Wiles Road on September 30, 2026.
The restaurant remained open and serving customers that day.
