SURFSIDE, FL. A food worker at Fialkoff's Express on Harding Avenue failed to report illness symptoms to management during a September 30 inspection, a violation state records classify as an outbreak enabler and one of the primary causes of multi-victim foodborne illness events. Inspectors also found the restaurant had no written employee health policy in place.
The facility walked away from that inspection with 7 high-severity violations and 2 intermediate violations. It was not emergency-closed.
What Inspectors Found
The handwashing citations came in two separate forms. Inspectors cited both inadequate handwashing by food employees and improper handwashing technique, meaning workers were not washing hands frequently enough and, when they did wash, were not doing it correctly. State records note that improper technique leaves pathogens on hands even when a washing attempt is made.
The parasite destruction violation is specific to fish and meat preparation. Without verified freezing or cooking protocols, parasites including Anisakis in fish and Trichinella in pork can survive and reach the customer's plate.
Food contact surfaces, the cutting boards, prep tables, and equipment that touch food directly, were found not properly cleaned or sanitized. Improperly cleaned surfaces are a documented vehicle for bacterial transfer from one food item to the next.
The restaurant also had no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked menu items. Without that notice, customers who are elderly, pregnant, immunocompromised, or very young have no way to make an informed decision about what they order.
What These Violations Mean
The illness-reporting failure is the violation that most directly put customers at risk on September 30. When a food worker is symptomatic and continues handling food without reporting to management, the transmission route to customers is direct. Norovirus, which causes the majority of foodborne illness outbreaks in restaurant settings, requires as few as 18 viral particles to infect a person. A sick worker touching food, a utensil, or a surface is enough.
The absence of a written health policy compounds that risk. A health policy is the mechanism that tells workers when to stay home, when to report symptoms, and what management is required to do in response. Without one, there is no framework to catch the failure before it reaches a customer.
The handwashing violations and the unsanitized food contact surfaces operate together. Hands carry pathogens from surfaces to food. Surfaces carry pathogens from food to food. When both systems fail simultaneously, the kitchen has no reliable barrier between contamination and the customer.
The parasite destruction citation adds a separate, distinct risk. If Fialkoff's Express serves fish or pork dishes that require a kill step, and that step is not being verified, parasites that would otherwise be neutralized by proper freezing or cooking temperatures are potentially surviving into finished dishes.
The Longer Record
Fialkoff's Express: Inspection History
The September 30 inspection is not an anomaly. State records show 8 inspections on file for Fialkoff's Express, and high-severity violations appeared in 7 of them. The one clean inspection, in November 2024, stands alone in a record that otherwise shows high-priority citations at every visit.
The July 2024 inspection produced 6 high-severity violations. The October 2025 inspection produced 4. The September 2026 visit, at 7, is the highest single-inspection count in the facility's recorded history.
Across all 8 inspections, the facility has accumulated 57 total violations. It has never been emergency-closed.
The restaurant remained open after the September 30 inspection.
