OPA LOCKA, FL. Back in January 2026, a state agriculture inspector visiting Hammond's Bakery on the first business week of the year found a bottle of power steering fluid stored above a reach-in cooler next to the office, in the bakery's backroom. That finding, a priority violation and a repeat from a prior inspection, set the tone for what the records show was a troubled visit to this Opa Locka retail bakery.
The January 5 inspection, conducted by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, turned up 15 total violations, including 3 priority violations and 1 that inspectors had already flagged before.
What Inspectors Found
The automotive fluid was not a new problem. Inspectors had cited the same category of violation before, making this a documented repeat. The inspector noted the chemical was moved to an appropriate location during the visit, but the fact that it had to be moved again underscores that the correction from the prior inspection did not hold.
A food employee was observed not washing hands after handling money, a direct priority violation. Inspectors noted that hands were washed after they intervened. A second priority violation involved the bakery's plumbing: a pipe from the hot case was draining directly into a trash can rather than into a proper drain. That violation was not corrected on site. Inspectors gave the establishment thirty days to repair it.
In the retail area, beef patties, mild patties, and spicy patties packaged on site were displayed in a reach-in freezer without required source labeling. The inspector noted the items were removed from consumer reach during the inspection.
The bakery also lacked written procedures for employees to follow in the event of a vomiting or diarrhea incident, a foundational food safety requirement. The person in charge could not correctly answer questions about foodborne illness symptoms and transmission routes. An employee health guide was provided during the visit.
A container of sugar in the kitchen area was not labeled with the common name of the food. Inside the walk-in cooler, soda crates and wood boards were being used as shelving. The mixer in the food prep area was rusted on its outer surface. Ceiling tiles throughout the facility, including the backroom, retail area, and food prep area, were stained, broken, or missing.
The unisex employee restroom door was not self-closing, the dumpster outside was uncovered during the inspection, and opened packages of white and yellow cheese in a reach-in cooler had not been date-labeled, though that was corrected during the visit.
Of the 15 violations documented, none were marked as corrected on site in the formal sense: the data shows zero violations corrected on site at the time of reporting, even where inspectors noted in-visit corrections for individual items. The plumbing violation remained unresolved with a thirty-day repair window.
What These Violations Mean
Storing automotive chemicals above food refrigeration equipment is not a paperwork problem. Power steering fluid is a toxic substance. If it had spilled or leaked onto the cooler surface or into food stored nearby, there would be no visible sign of contamination, and no way for a customer to know. The fact that this was a repeat violation means inspectors had already flagged this category of risk at Hammond's Bakery before January 2026.
The hand-washing violation carries its own risk. A food employee who handles cash and then touches food without washing hands creates a direct contamination route. Currency moves between hundreds of hands. The employee restroom at this facility also lacked soap and paper towels at the handwashing sink during the inspection, meaning the tools needed to wash hands correctly were not available even when an employee intended to use them.
The plumbing violation, a drain pipe emptying into a trash can instead of a proper drain, creates conditions for wastewater to pool, overflow, and contact food preparation surfaces or equipment. That violation was left open with a repair deadline rather than fixed during the inspection.
Unlabeled packaged food in a retail display is a traceability problem. If a customer purchased one of those beef or spicy patties and became ill, there would be no label to trace the product back to its source, its ingredients, or when it was packaged.
The Longer Record
The inspection history at this location is short but telling. FDACS records show two prior inspections on file before January 2026. A June 2024 focused inspection found zero violations. A March 2026 check-back inspection, conducted after the January visit, also found zero violations.
The January inspection sits between two clean reports. That pattern could suggest the January findings reflect a snapshot of conditions on a specific day rather than a chronic facility-wide failure. But the repeat violation for chemical storage complicates that reading: a zero-violation focused inspection in June 2024 did not prevent the same category of violation from appearing again in January 2026.
The March 2026 check-back found no violations, which means inspectors were satisfied with conditions at that follow-up visit. The plumbing repair, which had been given a thirty-day window in January, would have been among the items reviewed. Whether that repair was completed within the deadline the inspector set is not specified in the records.
What the record does show is that on January 5, 2026, a bottle of power steering fluid was sitting above a food cooler at a retail bakery in Opa Locka, and it was the second time inspectors had documented that category of problem at the same location.