CORAL SPRINGS, FL. Back in March 2026, a state inspector walked into Frida Coffee and Deli on Coral Springs and found a hot box full of empanadas that were nowhere near safe to serve. Egg empanadas measured 116°F. Spinach empanadas measured 112°F. Beef empanadas came in at 114°F, chicken at 118°F, ham and cheese at 119°F, and spinach and cheese at 116°F. State food safety standards require hot-held food to stay at or above 135°F.
Every item in that hot box was voluntarily discarded during the visit. The inspector issued a Stop Sale and Release order citing adulteration under Florida food safety statutes.
What Inspectors Found
The temperature failures were not the only concern. The inspector observed a food employee skip handwashing entirely before putting on gloves to handle food. The inspector reviewed policy with the employee on the spot, and the employee washed hands before putting on fresh gloves.
The deli was also operating without a valid food permit at the time of the inspection. An application had been submitted, according to the inspector's notes, but the permit itself was not in place.
The inspector also documented a missing splash barrier between the handwashing sink and the orange juice machine in the food service area, a restroom door with no self-closing device, wet wiping cloths left out of sanitizing solution, and soil buildup on oven handles. Three of those four basic violations were corrected during the visit. The splash barrier and the restroom door were not.
One additional finding was not corrected: the establishment had no written procedures for employees to respond to vomiting or diarrheal events. The inspector provided guidance documents during the visit, but written procedures were not in place at the time of inspection.
What These Violations Mean
The temperature readings in the hot box are the most direct public health concern from this inspection. When hot-held food drops below 135°F, bacteria that may already be present in cooked food, including Salmonella and Staphylococcus aureus, can begin to multiply. The empanadas at Frida Coffee and Deli ranged from 112°F to 119°F, a gap of 16 to 23 degrees below the legal minimum. A customer who purchased one of those items before the inspector arrived had no way of knowing the food had been sitting in an unsafe temperature range.
The handwashing violation carries a direct transmission risk. Gloves do not substitute for handwashing. Pathogens on an employee's hands transfer to the glove surface the moment the glove goes on, and from there to any food the employee touches. The inspector caught this in real time and had it corrected, but it reflects a gap in daily practice.
Operating without a valid food permit is a structural violation, not just a paperwork issue. A permit is the mechanism by which the state tracks a facility's inspection history, enforces compliance, and maintains the ability to act quickly if a foodborne illness complaint is filed. A facility without a current permit has effectively stepped outside that accountability system, even temporarily.
The absence of written vomit and diarrhea cleanup procedures matters most in the context of Norovirus. Norovirus spreads easily in food service environments, and improper cleanup of a contamination event can expose other customers and employees. Written procedures ensure staff know exactly what to do, in what order, and with what products, before an incident occurs rather than during one.
The Longer Record
The March 17, 2026 inspection was triggered specifically because the deli was operating without a valid food permit. That type of inspection, designated "Operating Without a Valid Food Permit, Met Sanitation Inspection," means the facility was flagged for the permit issue and inspectors conducted a full sanitation review at the same time.
The data for this facility does not include a prior inspection count, which limits the ability to place this visit in a longer pattern. What the record does show is that none of the eight violations cited on March 17 were marked as repeats. That means inspectors did not flag any of these findings as problems they had documented at this location before.
Of the eight violations, three were corrected during the inspection itself: the handwashing lapse, the wet wiping cloths, and the soiled oven handles. The hot box empanadas were pulled under a stop sale order. That leaves the splash barrier, the restroom door, and the missing vomit cleanup procedures as items that were still unresolved when the inspector left the building.