FLORIDA. A Miami restaurant was cited for food from unapproved sources, no shellfish traceability records, and undercooking in the same inspection, while three separate facilities across the state each accumulated 12 high-severity violations in a single visit during the week of October 10 through October 16, 2026.
The Week's Worst
Three facilities tied at the top with 12 high-severity violations each. Ming Garden on East Colonial Drive in Orlando drew citations spanning food from unapproved sources, parasite destruction failures, inadequate shellfish records, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, and two separate handwashing failures: employees not washing adequately and employees using improper technique. The combination of an unapproved food source and failed parasite destruction in the same inspection is particularly significant, because each violation independently removes a layer of protection against pathogens that cooking alone cannot reliably eliminate.
Kitchen Bistro on West Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway in Kissimmee matched that count with 12 high-severity violations of its own. Inspectors cited no person in charge, no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness symptoms, inadequate handwashing facilities, improper handwashing technique, missing shellfish identification records, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, and food not cooked to required minimum temperatures. That last finding, undercooking, combined with no manager present and no mechanism to catch sick employees before they handle food, represents a compounding failure across three distinct outbreak pathways simultaneously.
Famous Amos on North Main Street in Jacksonville also reached 12 high-severity violations. The citation list included no person in charge, no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness symptoms, inadequate handwashing facilities, improper handwashing technique, missing shellfish traceability records, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, and improper use of time as a public health control. That last citation, time abuse, is issued when a facility uses elapsed time instead of refrigeration to manage food safety but fails to follow the strict protocols that method requires.
The Full List
La Hormiga de Oro III on SW 147th Avenue in Miami accumulated 11 high-severity violations, the most diverse violation profile of any facility this week. Inspectors found food from unapproved sources, food in poor condition, inadequate shellfish records, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, and food not cooked to required temperatures, alongside the familiar cluster of no person in charge, no employee health policy, and employees not reporting illness. One citation stands out: inadequate shell stock identification. Without those records, there is no way to trace a shellfish-related illness back to the harvest bed or lot, which means a contaminated batch could remain in circulation even after a customer gets sick.
Tijuana Flats Burrito Company on Highway 50 in Clermont posted 11 high-severity violations and the highest intermediate violation count of the week at seven. The high-severity list included no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness, improper handwashing technique, food in poor condition, missing shellfish records, parasite destruction failures, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, and undercooking. Tijuana Flats is a regional chain with locations across Florida, which makes a finding of no employee health policy at this location a corporate-level compliance question.
Churros Manolo on Collins Avenue in Miami Beach drew 11 high-severity violations, including food from unapproved sources, parasite destruction failures, inadequate handwashing by employees, and no functioning handwashing infrastructure. A facility that sells food from unapproved sources while also failing to follow parasite destruction protocols has removed two independent safety checkpoints at once.
Margaritaville Resort Orlando's Euphoria Bar and Grill on Fins Up Circle in Kissimmee recorded 9 high-severity violations. The resort-based restaurant was cited for no person in charge, no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness, improper handwashing technique, missing shellfish records, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked menu items, and toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used. A resort dining operation serving a high volume of tourists, including elderly guests and families with young children, is precisely the setting where a missing consumer advisory for raw foods carries the most risk.
Latin American Grill on NW 79th Court in Miami Lakes logged 6 high-severity violations. Inspectors cited inadequate shellfish records, parasite destruction failures, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and two chemical storage violations: toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled, and toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used. Two separate chemical-related citations in a single inspection suggests the issue is not a single misplaced bottle but a broader storage practice.
A Gourmet Chinese Cuisine on East Colonial Drive in Orlando drew 3 high-severity violations: improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled. The intermediate violation was improper sewage or wastewater disposal, which inspectors note creates a risk of fecal contamination spreading through the facility.
U Mi FL LLC on West US Highway 90 in Lake City recorded a single high-severity violation: employees not reporting symptoms of illness. That citation appears unremarkable in a week of double-digit counts, but it reflects the same underlying gap that appeared in nine of the ten facilities on this list.
What These Violations Mean
The most common high-severity violation this week was employees not reporting illness symptoms, cited at nine of the ten facilities. This is not a paperwork problem. A food worker who reports to a shift while sick with Norovirus and handles ready-to-eat food can expose dozens or hundreds of customers before anyone realizes an outbreak is underway. The violation at Ming Garden, Kitchen Bistro, Famous Amos, La Hormiga de Oro III, Tijuana Flats, Churros Manolo, Margaritaville's Euphoria Bar, and U Mi FL LLC all reflect the same failure: no enforceable system to keep symptomatic employees away from food.
Food from unapproved sources, cited at La Hormiga de Oro III, Ming Garden, and Churros Manolo, means inspectors could not confirm the food came through a licensed, inspected supplier. That matters because the safety chain that catches contaminated product before it reaches a kitchen, USDA and FDA inspections, lot tracking, and recall systems, only works if the food is in that chain to begin with. Food that enters outside it cannot be recalled.
Parasite destruction failures at Ming Garden, Latin American Grill, Tijuana Flats, and Churros Manolo are separate from cooking temperature violations. Parasite destruction requires specific freezing protocols for certain raw or undercooked fish and pork products. A facility that serves ceviche, sushi, or lightly cured meats without those protocols in place is relying on luck rather than process.
The chemical storage violations at Latin American Grill and A Gourmet Chinese Cuisine, and the toxic substance violations at Latin American Grill and Margaritaville's Euphoria Bar, represent an acute rather than slow-building risk. Unlike bacterial contamination, chemical poisoning from a mislabeled or improperly stored cleaner or pesticide can cause immediate illness from a single serving.
The Longer Record
Ming Garden on East Colonial Drive is one of two Orlando restaurants on this week's list. Its 12 high-severity violations included the full range of disease-transmission failures: sourcing, parasite control, handwashing, and surface sanitation. East Colonial Drive in Orlando has historically been one of the more inspection-intensive corridors in the state, with a dense concentration of independent Asian restaurants that inspectors visit on a regular cycle.
Kitchen Bistro in Kissimmee sits on the West Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway corridor, a stretch heavily trafficked by tourists heading to and from the theme park area. The combination of high customer volume, an undercooking citation, and no person in charge during the inspection is the kind of profile that, in prior Florida cases, has preceded emergency closures at nearby facilities.
Famous Amos in Jacksonville and Tijuana Flats in Clermont are both multi-location operations, which means the violations documented this week are not isolated to a single owner or a single kitchen. A finding of no employee health policy at a chain location points to a gap that likely exists wherever that policy was never implemented or enforced.
Churros Manolo on Collins Avenue in Miami Beach draws a beach and resort crowd, the same demographic that Margaritaville's Euphoria Bar serves in Kissimmee. Both facilities were cited for missing consumer advisories for raw or undercooked items this week, and both serve menus that include items commonly prepared with raw or lightly cooked ingredients. Neither facility had a response on record at the time of publication.
