TAMARAC, FL. Food at the Golden Krust Caribbean Bakery & Grill on North University Drive was not being cooked to the minimum required temperature when state inspectors arrived on September 16, a violation that means pathogens including Salmonella can survive in poultry and reach a customer's plate.
Inspectors cited Golden Krust Caribbean Bakery & Grill at 5711 N University Drive for six high-severity violations and two intermediate violations that day. The restaurant was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The undercooking violation was not the only finding that pointed directly at customers. Inspectors also cited the restaurant because employees were not reporting symptoms of illness, and because no written employee health policy existed to require them to do so.
Those two violations compound each other. Without a policy, workers have no documented obligation to report symptoms. Without reporting, a sick employee can handle food through an entire shift without any mechanism to stop them.
The handwashing citation added a third layer. Inspectors found that employees were not using proper hand and arm washing technique, meaning that even when a handwashing attempt was made, pathogens were not reliably removed.
Inspectors also cited the restaurant for improper use of time as a public health control. When a facility opts to use elapsed time rather than temperature to keep food safe, the method requires strict tracking and disposal protocols. The citation indicates those protocols were not being followed, leaving food in the temperature danger zone without either safeguard in place.
The final high-severity violation was the absence of a consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods. Customers who are elderly, pregnant, or immunocompromised rely on that disclosure to make informed choices about what they order.
What These Violations Mean
The combination of violations found at Golden Krust on September 16 represents multiple simultaneous breakdowns in the most fundamental food safety controls.
Undercooking is among the most direct routes to foodborne illness. Salmonella in poultry survives below 165 degrees Fahrenheit. A customer who receives undercooked meat has no way of knowing it, and no warning was required to be posted because the consumer advisory was also missing.
The illness reporting failures are statistically significant. Food workers who do not report symptoms are the leading cause of multi-victim outbreaks. Norovirus, which spreads through contact with an infected person's hands, can sicken dozens of customers from a single shift worked by one ill employee. The absence of a health policy at this location means there was no written system requiring workers to stay home or be removed from food handling when sick.
Improperly cleaned multi-use utensils develop bacterial biofilms within 24 hours. Those biofilms are resistant to standard cleaning and can transfer bacteria to food even after a surface appears clean. Equipment in poor repair, the second intermediate violation, creates cracks and corroded areas where the same bacteria accumulate and cannot be reached by routine sanitation.
The Longer Record
The September 16 inspection was not an anomaly. State records show Golden Krust at this address has been inspected 33 times and has accumulated 209 total violations across its history.
The pattern of high-severity violations is consistent across multiple recent inspections. On February 3, 2026, inspectors cited the restaurant for six high-severity violations and two intermediate violations, an identical count to the September findings. On October 16, 2025, inspectors found seven high-severity violations. On March 17, 2025, there were three high-severity violations.
The restaurant was emergency-closed once before, on September 8, 2020, after inspectors found flies. It reopened the following day.
Between the 2020 closure and the September 2026 inspection, records show the restaurant passed two inspections cleanly, in August 2023 and March 2026. But the stretch from late 2024 through the most recent visit has been marked by repeated high-severity findings, including the February 3 inspection that mirrors the September count almost exactly.
Open for Business
State inspectors have the authority to order an emergency closure when conditions pose an immediate threat to public health. Six high-severity violations, including undercooked food, unreported employee illness, and no mechanism to require sick workers to stay home, did not trigger that order on September 16.
Golden Krust Caribbean Bakery & Grill at 5711 N University Drive remained open after the inspection concluded.
