MIAMI, FL. A state inspector visited Havana 40 at 4421 SW 75 Avenue in Miami on October 8 and found that the restaurant was serving food sourced from unapproved or unknown suppliers, a violation that means there is no way to trace that food back through the supply chain if a customer gets sick.
That was one of ten high-severity violations documented in a single visit. The restaurant was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The inspector also cited the restaurant for having no employee health policy, meaning there is no written procedure requiring sick workers to stay out of the kitchen. A separate citation noted improper handwashing technique, distinct from the inadequate handwashing citation, meaning two separate handwashing failures were documented in the same visit.
Food contact surfaces were found not properly cleaned or sanitized. Toxic chemicals were found improperly stored or labeled near the food operation.
The inspector additionally cited the restaurant for failing to use time as a public health control properly, for serving food in poor condition or mislabeled, and for providing no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked items on the menu. Four intermediate violations accompanied the ten high-severity citations: improper sewage or wastewater disposal, multi-use utensils not properly cleaned, inadequate ventilation and lighting, and improper use of wiping cloths.
What These Violations Mean
The food-from-unapproved-sources violation is not a paperwork technicality. Food that bypasses USDA and FDA inspection has no documented handling history. If a customer becomes ill after eating at Havana 40, investigators would have no supply chain record to trace. That gap can be the difference between containing an outbreak and losing it entirely.
The undercooking violation compounds that risk directly. Salmonella in poultry survives below 165 degrees Fahrenheit. When a restaurant is simultaneously sourcing food from unverified suppliers and failing to cook it to the temperature required to kill pathogens, those two violations do not sit independently.
The dual handwashing citations, one for inadequate handwashing and one for improper technique, mean that even when employees made an attempt to wash their hands, they were not doing it correctly. Norovirus, which causes the overwhelming majority of foodborne illness outbreaks in restaurant settings, is transmitted precisely through this pathway.
Toxic chemicals stored improperly near food represent a different category of risk entirely. A mislabeled or misplaced chemical can contaminate food directly, and the resulting illness does not look like a typical foodborne case, which can delay diagnosis and treatment.
The Longer Record
Havana 40: Recent Inspection History
State records show Havana 40 has been inspected 33 times and has accumulated 278 total violations. The restaurant has never been emergency-closed.
The October 8 inspection is the worst single visit in the recent record by a significant margin. The prior inspection, in May 2026, turned up 2 high-severity violations. The one before that, in February 2026, found 6. The jump to 10 high-severity violations in a single visit, combined with the specific nature of those violations, marks a clear departure from recent baseline performance at the facility.
High-severity violations have appeared in seven of the eight most recently documented inspections. The one exception was October 2025, when the inspector found no high-severity violations at all. That clean visit came one month after a separate October 2025 inspection that found three high-severity violations, suggesting the improvement did not hold.
Open for Business
Florida law gives inspectors the authority to order an emergency closure when conditions pose an immediate threat to public health. Pest activity, sewage backup, and loss of running water are among the most common triggers. Ten high-severity violations, including food from unapproved sources, undercooking, toxic chemical storage failures, and a complete absence of an employee health policy, did not result in a closure order on October 8.
Havana 40 remained open after the inspection.
