ORLANDO, FL. An inspector visiting House of Pho Orlando on S John Young Parkway in May found food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, two separate toxic chemical violations, and shellfish on hand with no traceability records. The restaurant was not closed.
The May 13 inspection produced seven high-severity violations and three intermediate violations. State records show the facility has accumulated 390 total violations across 33 inspections on record, and was emergency-closed once before, in April 2024, for roach activity.
What Inspectors Found
The undercooking violation is the most direct threat to anyone who ate at the restaurant that day. Inspectors documented that food was not reaching required minimum internal temperatures before being served.
Two separate chemical violations compounded the risk. Inspectors cited the restaurant both for toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled and for toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used. Those are not the same citation, which means inspectors found more than one distinct problem involving chemicals in proximity to food preparation.
The shellfish citation adds a traceability dimension. Without shell stock identification records, there is no way to determine the source of oysters, clams, or mussels served at the restaurant if a customer becomes ill. The restaurant also lacked a consumer advisory informing diners that raw or undercooked items were available, a requirement specifically designed to protect elderly customers, pregnant women, and anyone with a compromised immune system.
Food contact surfaces were not properly cleaned or sanitized, and employees were documented using improper handwashing technique. Inspectors also cited improper use of wiping cloths and multi-use utensils that had not been properly cleaned.
What These Violations Mean
The undercooking violation is not a paperwork problem. Salmonella in poultry survives below 165 degrees Fahrenheit. A customer who received improperly cooked food at House of Pho Orlando on May 13 had no way of knowing it.
The two chemical violations together describe a kitchen where toxic substances were not reliably separated, labeled, or managed. A mislabeled chemical placed near food preparation surfaces does not need a large spill to cause harm. Trace contamination from an unlabeled container is enough.
The improper handwashing technique citation is distinct from a failure to wash hands at all, but the health consequence is similar. A technique failure means pathogens remain on hands after a washing attempt. Combined with improperly cleaned food contact surfaces and wiping cloths used in ways that spread rather than remove contamination, the inspection describes a kitchen where multiple transmission routes were active simultaneously.
The absence of shell stock identification records matters most after someone gets sick. Shellfish are harvested from specific beds, and if contaminated shellfish from a particular source reach multiple restaurants, public health officials need those records to trace and stop an outbreak. Without them, the chain of evidence breaks.
The Longer Record
House of Pho Orlando: Recent Inspection History
The May 2026 inspection is not an anomaly. The December 2025 inspection produced 11 high-severity violations and four intermediate violations, the worst single visit in the recent record. The June 2025 inspection produced seven high-severity violations and three intermediate violations, an identical severity profile to this month's visit.
Across eight documented inspections from April 2024 through May 2026, the facility has never recorded fewer than one high-severity violation, and has recorded seven or more on four separate occasions. The facility's total record stands at 390 violations across 33 inspections.
The one emergency closure came in April 2024, when inspectors documented roach activity and cited seven high-severity and six intermediate violations. The restaurant reopened the following day. The inspection that followed, on April 23, 2024, showed only one high-severity and one intermediate violation. Within two months, by June 2024, the count was back to five high-severity violations.
Open for Business
State inspectors documented seven high-severity violations at House of Pho Orlando on May 13, 2026, including food not cooked to temperature, two distinct chemical storage failures, and shellfish with no records to trace their origin.
The restaurant was not emergency-closed.
It has now recorded high-severity violations in every inspection across a span of more than two years. The most recent visit looked, in terms of violation count and severity, almost exactly like the one a year before it.