FORT MYERS, FL. China Fusion on Paul J. Doherty Parkway drew the most serious inspection record in Fort Myers the week of April 23, 2026, with 8 high-severity violations documented in a single visit, including toxic chemicals improperly stored near food, no allergen awareness among staff, and food left in the temperature danger zone under a time-control system inspectors found was not being properly followed.
The violations at China Fusion did not stop there. Inspectors also cited the restaurant for improper handwashing technique, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, no written employee health policy, an employee failing to report illness symptoms, and no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked menu items. Eight high-severity citations in one inspection is among the heaviest single-visit totals in Lee County this week.
What Inspectors Found Across the City
El Gaucho Inca on Colonial Boulevard was cited for 6 high-severity violations, including a finding that food had been contaminated by chemical, physical, or biological hazards. Inspectors also found no written employee health policy, improper handwashing technique, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and inadequate shellfish identification records, meaning the restaurant could not demonstrate where its shellfish originated.
Pickle and Pub Restaurant Inc on Old McGregor Boulevard matched that total with 6 high-severity violations, including food from an unapproved or unknown source. That citation, combined with food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, improper time-as-public-health-control procedures, no consumer advisory, no employee health policy, and an employee not reporting illness symptoms, placed it among the week's most serious findings.
European American Bakery Cafe on Metro Parkway was cited for 5 high-severity violations, two of which stand out: food not cooked to the required minimum temperature, and parasite destruction procedures not followed. The bakery-cafe also had an intermediate violation for improper sewage or wastewater disposal, a finding that creates risk of fecal contamination spreading through the facility.
Pho Bowl on Metro Parkway drew 5 high-severity violations, including no allergen awareness among staff and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized. Inspectors also cited improper handwashing technique and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked items.
Lodge at Heritage Palms on Seminole Palm Way was cited for 5 high-severity violations, including inadequate handwashing facilities and toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used. When handwashing infrastructure itself is inadequate, proper hand hygiene becomes structurally impossible regardless of employee intent.
Salty Papa's Shrimp House on McGregor Boulevard collected 5 high-severity violations with no intermediate violations alongside them, a combination that suggests the problems inspectors flagged were concentrated at the most serious level. Violations included no employee health policy, an employee not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing, unclean food contact surfaces, and improper use of time as a public health control.
The Rest of the Week's Findings
Banh Mi and Tea Inc on Six Mile Cypress Parkway was cited for food from an unapproved or unknown source and inadequate shellfish identification records, alongside no employee health policy and an employee not reporting illness symptoms. The facility also had four intermediate violations, including inadequate toilet facilities.
Lis China King on Dani Drive was cited for food not cooked to the required minimum temperature, improper handwashing, unclean food contact surfaces, and no employee health policy. Inspectors also noted inadequate ventilation and improper sanitizer concentration.
Hibachi Express on Ben C. Pratt Six Mile Cypress drew 4 high-severity violations including food not cooked to the required minimum temperature and no consumer advisory. Intermediate violations included improper sewage or wastewater disposal and inadequate toilet facilities.
Cadeau Cafe on Metro Parkway was cited for parasite destruction procedures not followed, inadequate shellfish identification records, and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned. An intermediate violation for improper sewage or wastewater disposal was also documented.
Hooters Restaurant on Cleveland Avenue was cited for food in poor condition, mislabeled, or adulterated, and toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used, along with no employee health policy and improper handwashing technique.
Sip and Sizzle on First Street had no person in charge present or performing duties when inspectors arrived, a finding that accompanied violations for an employee not reporting illness symptoms, inadequate shellfish identification records, and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned.
Ceviches by Divino on Dani Drive was also cited for no person in charge, along with no employee health policy, improper handwashing, and inadequate shellfish identification records. Given that the restaurant's name signals a menu built around raw seafood, the shellfish traceability citation is particularly notable.
Irie I Jamaican American Cafe on Fowler Street was cited for food not cooked to the required minimum temperature, food in poor condition or adulterated, no employee health policy, and required procedures for specialized processes not followed. That last citation applies to techniques like smoking, curing, or reduced-oxygen packaging, each of which requires documented, precise protocols to prevent pathogen growth.
What These Violations Mean
The most common high-severity citation this week, appearing at ten of the fifteen facilities, was no written employee health policy. The absence of that document is not a paperwork problem. Without a policy, there is no formal mechanism requiring a sick employee to stay home or report symptoms to a manager. Food workers are the number-one source of Norovirus outbreaks, which causes an estimated 20 million illnesses annually in the United States. The facilities where this violation combined with a separate citation for an employee actively failing to report illness symptoms, including China Fusion, Pickle and Pub, Salty Papa's Shrimp House, and Banh Mi and Tea Inc, present the most direct transmission risk.
The shellfish traceability citations at El Gaucho Inca, Banh Mi and Tea Inc, Sip and Sizzle, Ceviches by Divino, and Cadeau Cafe carry a specific danger that is easy to underestimate. Shellfish, particularly oysters, are frequently consumed raw or barely cooked. Without proper identification tags on shellfish stock, there is no way to trace an illness back to its harvest source if a customer gets sick. That traceability gap is what allows contaminated shellfish outbreaks to spread before regulators can identify and pull the source.
The undercooking citations at European American Bakery Cafe, Lis China King, Hibachi Express, and Irie I Jamaican American Cafe point to a different but equally direct risk. Salmonella in poultry survives at temperatures below 165 degrees Fahrenheit. At Irie I Jamaican American Cafe, inspectors also cited required procedures for specialized processes not followed, meaning any smoking, curing, or modified-atmosphere packaging in use there lacks the documented controls that prevent pathogens from surviving the process.
Toxic chemical storage violations at China Fusion and Lodge at Heritage Palms represent the most immediate acute risk in this week's data. Chemical contamination from improperly stored cleaners or sanitizers can cause poisoning in a single meal, with no incubation period. Unlike bacterial illness, which may take hours or days to manifest, chemical exposure can produce symptoms within minutes.
The Longer Record
Pho Bowl carries the longest inspection history of any facility in this week's data, with 31 prior inspections on record, and still accumulated 5 high-severity violations this visit. Pickle and Pub and European American Bakery Cafe each have 29 prior inspections on record. The persistence of high-severity violations at facilities with inspection histories this deep suggests the citations are not prompting lasting correction.
China Fusion and El Gaucho Inca each have 27 prior inspections on record. China Fusion's 8 high-severity violations this week, across a history that long, is a pattern, not an anomaly.
At the newer end of the spectrum, Cadeau Cafe has only 7 prior inspections on record and already carries citations for parasite destruction procedures not followed and inadequate shellfish identification. Hibachi Express has 14 prior inspections and drew violations for sewage disposal and undercooking. Both facilities are accumulating serious citations early in their inspection histories.
Ceviches by Divino and Banh Mi and Tea Inc each have 14 to 16 prior inspections on record. Both were cited this week for shellfish traceability failures. For a restaurant whose name is built around ceviche, a dish served raw, the shellfish identification citation at Ceviches by Divino remained unresolved as of this inspection record.