LAKE BUTLER, FL. Back in January 2026, a state inspector walking through the processing area of Fast Track Foods #214 found a spray bottle of tire shine and degreaser stored directly over single-use pizza trays, the same trays customers' food would be placed on.
The inspector moved the chemicals during the visit. But the find was the most serious of eight violations documented at the Union County convenience store on January 13, and it wasn't the only problem.
What Inspectors Found
Two of the eight violations were repeats, meaning inspectors had flagged the same problems at a prior visit and found them unresolved. In the walk-in freezer, frozen pizzas were again stored directly on the floor rather than at least six inches above it. Outside, the dumpster had a rusting bottom, a structural defect the inspector had noted before.
The kratom violations were a separate category of concern. The store was selling 39 kratom products without the labeling required under Florida emergency rule 5KER25-4. Specifically, four Botanic Tonics Feel Free Classic 2ml bottles, one Tri Sprout Kratom Pineapple Punch Energy Kratom Shot, and four Tri Sprout Kratom Watermelon Crisp Focus Kratom Shots were on the shelf without labels disclosing the concentration of 7-Hydroxymitragynine, the compound the state now requires to be identified. No age restriction sign for kratom sales was posted, either, though staff put one up during the inspection.
Single-use cups in the stockroom were found in boxes sitting directly on the floor. Pizza and wing trays on the processing table were not stored inverted to protect them from contamination, though staff corrected that during the visit.
The store also had no written procedures for handling vomiting or diarrheal events, and no certified food protection manager on staff.
What These Violations Mean
The tire shine finding was the most acute risk in this inspection. Automotive chemicals stored above food-contact surfaces create a direct contamination path: a spill, a drip, or an accidental knock could transfer toxic material onto the trays used for customers' food. The inspector classified it as a priority violation, the highest severity level in the state's system, and moved the items on site. But the fact that the storage arrangement existed at all points to a gap in how chemicals are managed at the store.
The kratom labeling violations carry a different kind of risk. Florida's emergency rule requiring disclosure of 7-Hydroxymitragynine concentration exists because 7-OH is the primary active alkaloid in kratom and its potency varies significantly between products. Without that label, a customer buying a 2ml Botanic Tonics Feel Free Classic has no way to compare its potency to other products or make an informed decision about dosage. The state issued this requirement as an emergency rule, meaning regulators determined the public health need was urgent enough to bypass the normal rulemaking process.
The absence of a certified food protection manager is a structural problem, not a single-item fix. State rules require at least one person at a food establishment to hold a valid food safety certification, because that certification is what ensures someone on staff understands temperature controls, cross-contamination risks, and proper storage. When that position is vacant, there is no designated person accountable for keeping those standards in place between inspections.
The repeat violations, frozen food on the floor and a deteriorating dumpster, are worth examining together. Food stored directly on a walk-in freezer floor is exposed to whatever is tracked in from outside, and a dumpster with a rusted-out bottom allows waste to leak onto the ground around it, creating conditions that attract pests. Both were flagged before this inspection. Neither was fixed.
The Longer Record
This inspection was logged as a "Product Re-inspection Required" visit, meaning it was a follow-up to a prior inspection, not a routine first look. The designation matters: two of the eight violations found on January 13 were repeats from that earlier visit, which means the store had already been told about the frozen pizza storage and the dumpster and had not corrected either.
The re-inspection format also means the state had already given the store an opportunity to come into compliance before this visit. Finding unresolved repeat violations on a follow-up inspection is a different situation than finding new problems on a first visit.
None of the eight violations from the January 13 inspection were corrected on site as a group. Three individual items were addressed during the visit: the tire shine was moved, the kratom age sign was posted, and the pizza trays were inverted. The five remaining violations, including the two repeats, the kratom labeling failures, the floor storage of cups, and the missing food protection manager, were left unresolved when the inspector departed.
As of the January 13 visit, Fast Track Foods #214 still had no certified food protection manager on staff.
