MIAMI, FL. A state inspector visiting Islas Canarias Restaurant on SW 26th Street in May found that the kitchen was serving fish without following any parasite destruction procedures, a lapse that leaves customers exposed to live Anisakis worms and tapeworm larvae that proper freezing or cooking would otherwise kill.
That was one of eight high-severity violations documented at the Miami-Dade restaurant on May 4, 2026. The facility was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The parasite violation was not the only finding that put food on the table in a compromised state. Inspectors also cited the kitchen for failing to cook food to the required minimum temperature, meaning pathogens including Salmonella in poultry can survive and reach a customer's plate. Salmonella survives below 165 degrees Fahrenheit, and undercooking is among the most direct causes of foodborne illness outbreaks.
Food contact surfaces were found not properly cleaned or sanitized. Cutting boards, prep surfaces, and equipment that touch raw and ready-to-eat food are a primary transfer route for bacteria when sanitation steps are skipped or incomplete.
The restaurant was also cited for using time as a public health control without doing so properly. That practice, which allows food to sit in the temperature danger zone between 41 and 135 degrees for a defined window instead of being kept cold or hot, carries strict documentation and disposal requirements. When those requirements are not followed, food can remain in the danger zone far longer than the rules allow.
Two more violations compounded the handwashing picture. The facility had inadequate handwashing infrastructure and employees were observed using improper technique. Those two citations together mean the barriers between contaminated hands and food were failing at both the facility level and the individual level.
The restaurant had no written employee health policy, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked items on the menu, and two intermediate violations for improper sewage disposal and improper waste handling.
What These Violations Mean
The parasite destruction citation is one of the more serious findings in this inspection because it is invisible to the customer. A diner ordering fish has no way to know whether the kitchen froze it to the required temperature for the required time, or cooked it to the point that kills Anisakis larvae and tapeworm cysts. At Islas Canarias on May 4, inspectors found the procedures were not being followed. The consequences of a live Anisakis infection include severe abdominal pain, nausea, and in some cases intestinal perforation requiring surgery.
The undercooking violation adds a second layer of risk. Salmonella, Campylobacter, and E. coli all survive in poultry and other proteins that are pulled from heat too early. These are not rare pathogens. They are the organisms behind thousands of confirmed foodborne illness hospitalizations in Florida each year.
The absence of a consumer advisory matters specifically for elderly diners, pregnant women, young children, and anyone with a compromised immune system. Those groups face the highest risk from undercooked proteins and raw preparations. Without a menu advisory, they have no warning.
The sewage disposal violation deserves attention on its own. Improper handling of wastewater creates a fecal contamination pathway that can reach food preparation surfaces, utensils, and food itself. Combined with the sanitation failures on food contact surfaces, the inspection painted a facility where multiple contamination routes were active simultaneously.
The Longer Record
The May 2026 inspection was not an anomaly. State records show inspectors have visited Islas Canarias at least 21 times, and the facility has accumulated 276 total violations across that history.
The eight high-severity violations found in May represent the highest single-inspection count in the recent record, but the pattern runs deep. The September 2024 inspection produced seven high-severity violations and three intermediate ones. The January 2025 visit found four high-severity violations. The July 2025 inspection found three high-severity and three intermediate violations, just ten months before this inspection.
High-severity violations have appeared in every inspection on record going back through 2022. The April 2023 inspection produced five high-severity violations; the September 2022 inspection produced six. There has not been a single clean inspection in the available history.
The restaurant has never been emergency-closed despite that volume. In 21 inspections producing 276 violations, state regulators have not pulled the operating license.
Still Open
After the May 4 inspection, with eight high-severity violations on the books including failures in cooking temperature, parasite controls, handwashing, and sanitation, Islas Canarias on SW 26th Street remained open for business.