BOCA RATON, FL. Back in December 2025, a state inspector visiting Herb'N Roots, a specialty food shop in Boca Raton, found a plastic spray bottle of window cleaner sitting on top of a prep table in the processing area, directly alongside surfaces used to handle food.
That finding, one of two priority violations documented during the December 9 inspection, was corrected on the spot after the person in charge removed the bottle. The other priority violation was not so easily dismissed.
What Inspectors Found
In the food service area, an inspector observed a food employee putting on gloves before washing their hands, skipping the hand-washing step entirely between tasks. The inspector documented the violation and explained proper hand-washing procedures. The employee then washed their hands.
The inspector also noted that the person in charge was unable to confirm, in any verifiable way, that food employees had been told which illnesses and symptoms they are required to report. That violation was not corrected on site.
A handwashing sink in the processing area was cited as not conveniently located to that work area. In the food service area, the handwashing sink had no paper towels available, though the person in charge provided them before the inspector left.
The remaining violations were classified as basic. A food employee was observed working without a hair net or cap in the processing area. Wet wiping cloths were found stored on top of the prep reach-in cooler in the food service area and on top of a prep table in the processing area, rather than kept in sanitizing solution between uses. Dried food particles had built up on the underside of prep tables in the processing area and on the underside of the prep reach-in cooler in the food service area. And in the backroom, the inspector noted a gap under the back door, an opening that could allow insects or rodents to enter. The chest freezer in the processing area had no thermometer.
None of the ten violations were repeats from a prior inspection. None were corrected on site, with the exception of the two priority violations.
What These Violations Mean
The hand-washing violation carries direct public health implications. When a food worker skips hand washing and goes straight to gloves, any contamination on their hands transfers to the gloves and then to whatever they touch. Gloves are not a substitute for washing. At a specialty food shop where products may be handled directly before being sold or packaged, that gap in hygiene is a straightforward transmission route for foodborne illness.
The window cleaner stored on the prep table is classified as a priority violation because toxic materials near food contact surfaces create a contamination risk with no margin for error. Cleaning chemicals can transfer to food through direct contact, aerosol drift, or residue left on surfaces. The fact that it was corrected immediately does not eliminate the question of how long it had been there.
The illness reporting failure is quieter but significant. When employees do not know which symptoms, such as vomiting, diarrhea, jaundice, or sore throat with fever, require them to stay home or report to management, a sick worker can continue handling food without anyone flagging the risk. State rules require that this knowledge be documented and verifiable, not just assumed.
The gap under the back door is a basic violation, but it is the kind of finding that matters over time. An unsealed entry point is an ongoing invitation for pests, and pest activity in a food retail environment can escalate quickly.
The Longer Record
The December 2025 inspection was the third FDACS inspection on record at this location. The history is short but notable.
The most recent prior inspection, a focused review conducted in August 2024, found zero violations. That clean record makes the ten violations documented four months later, in December 2025, a meaningful shift rather than a continuation of a pattern.
The earliest inspection on record, from December 2022, found nine violations and was conducted under the category "Operating Without a Valid Food Permit," a serious administrative finding that goes beyond individual food safety practices.
None of the ten violations from December 2025 were flagged as repeats, meaning the inspector did not find the same specific cited issues from prior visits. But the illness reporting violation, the handwashing access issue, and the unsealed back door were not corrected before the inspector left.
Those three findings remained open at the close of the December 9 inspection.
