NORTH MIAMI, FL. Food was not cooked to required minimum temperatures at the IHOP at 12875 Biscayne Blvd when state inspectors visited on September 30, 2026, a violation that means Salmonella and other pathogens can survive on the plate and reach the customer.
That was one of ten high-severity violations inspectors documented that day. The restaurant was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The ten high-severity violations covered nearly every major category of food safety failure. Inspectors cited improper handwashing technique, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, and time as a public health control not properly used, meaning food was allowed to sit in the temperature danger zone between 41 and 135 degrees without proper tracking.
Two separate chemical violations appeared on the same report. Toxic chemicals were found improperly stored or labeled, and toxic substances were found improperly identified, stored, or used. Both citations appeared on the same inspection report.
Inspectors also cited inadequate shellfish identification records. The restaurant had no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked foods.
Six intermediate violations accompanied the ten high-severity findings. Those included improper sewage or wastewater disposal, multi-use utensils not properly cleaned, inadequate cooling and cold-holding equipment, inadequate ventilation and lighting, improper use of wiping cloths, and equipment in poor repair.
What These Violations Mean
The undercooking violation is the most direct threat to anyone who ate at this location around September 30. Salmonella in poultry survives below 165 degrees Fahrenheit. A customer has no way to know their food was not brought to a safe temperature, and no warning was posted because the consumer advisory was also missing.
The two chemical violations are a separate category of danger. When toxic substances are stored near food or improperly labeled, contamination can happen through spills, mislabeled containers, or residue left on surfaces. The result is acute poisoning, not a slow-developing illness.
The illness reporting failures compound everything else. Without a written employee health policy at this IHOP, there is no formal system requiring sick workers to stay home or report symptoms. Inspectors separately cited employees for not reporting illness symptoms. Norovirus, which spreads through an infected food worker's hands, is the leading cause of multi-victim restaurant outbreaks in the United States.
Improper handwashing technique makes that risk worse. An employee who goes through the motions of washing hands but uses incorrect technique still transfers pathogens to food. Combined with food contact surfaces that were not properly cleaned or sanitized, the contamination pathways at this location on September 30 were multiple and overlapping.
The Longer Record
IHOP Biscayne Blvd: Inspection History
This location has 27 inspections on record and 145 total violations. Every single inspection in the eight most recent visits, stretching back to June 2022, produced at least two high-severity violations. None of those visits produced a result anywhere close to the September 30 inspection.
The prior emergency closure came in May 2019, when inspectors found flies and ordered the restaurant shut. It reopened the next day. In the seven years since, the facility has continued to accumulate high-severity citations at every routine visit, never once coming back clean.
The September 30 inspection was not a new pattern. It was the existing pattern, accelerated. The jump from one or two high-severity violations per visit to ten in a single inspection is a significant escalation, but the underlying categories, illness policy, sanitation, temperature control, were already showing up in prior reports.
The restaurant was not closed after inspectors documented those ten high-severity violations on September 30. It remained open.
