JACKSONVILLE, FL. Dough Show on Bartram Park Boulevard drew 13 high-severity violations in a single inspection during the week of May 18, the most of any facility among 15 Jacksonville restaurants cited for serious food safety failures that week.
The violations at Dough Show were broad and layered. Inspectors documented food from an unapproved or unknown source, food in poor condition or adulterated, and a failure to follow parasite destruction procedures, meaning fish or other high-risk proteins may have been served without the freezing or cooking required to kill parasites including Anisakis and tapeworm. Inspectors also cited inadequate shell stock identification records, which means raw shellfish on the premises could not be traced to its harvest source.
The management picture at Dough Show was equally stark. No person in charge was present or performing duties during the inspection. There was no employee health policy. An employee was not reporting symptoms of illness. And inspectors cited improper hand and arm washing technique, meaning that even when employees attempted to wash their hands, they were not doing so in a way that removes pathogens.
What Inspectors Found Across the City
Hunan Wok on Beach Boulevard was second in high-severity violation count for the week, with nine. Inspectors there found no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness symptoms, inadequate handwashing facilities, and food from an unapproved or unknown source. Food contact surfaces were not properly cleaned or sanitized. Time as a public health control was not properly used, meaning food sat in the temperature danger zone, between 41 and 135 degrees Fahrenheit, without the documentation or controls required to make that practice safe.
La Nopalera Mexican Restaurant on St. Johns Avenue drew six high-severity and four intermediate violations. Among the high-severity findings: toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled, required procedures for specialized processes not followed, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods. Inspectors also cited improper sewage or waste water disposal, a finding that creates direct risk of fecal contamination inside the facility.
Hiro Japanese Restaurant on Baymeadows Road had six high-severity violations of its own. Inspectors found no person in charge present, inadequate handwashing facilities, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled. Inadequate shell stock identification records were also cited, meaning shellfish served there could not be traced to an approved harvest source if a customer became ill.
Hibachi Express on University Boulevard West matched Hiro with six high-severity violations. Inspectors documented food from an unapproved source, inadequate shell stock records, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, and toxic chemicals improperly stored. Time as a public health control was not properly used.
5th Element Taste of India on Baymeadows Road drew five high-severity violations, including no person in charge, an employee not reporting illness symptoms, inadequate handwashing facilities, and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned. Inspectors also noted single-use items being improperly reused.
Tulua Bistro on North Main Street had five high-severity violations, including two separate chemical citations: toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled and toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used. Inspectors also found improper hand washing technique and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned.
Jumpin Jax House of Food on Belfort Road rounded out the five-violation tier. No employee health policy, an employee not reporting illness symptoms, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and toxic chemicals improperly stored were all cited.
Deercreek Country Club on McLaurin Road North was cited for food not cooked to the required minimum temperature, a finding that means Salmonella, Campylobacter, or other pathogens may have survived in poultry or other proteins served to members. Inspectors also found no person in charge and inadequate handwashing facilities.
Melting Pot on Gate Parkway and Mission BBQ on Blanding Boulevard each drew three high-severity violations. Melting Pot was cited for food not cooked to minimum temperature and no employee health policy. Mission BBQ drew a parasite destruction citation alongside a food not cooked to minimum temperature finding.
McDonald's on North University Boulevard drew no high-severity violations but was cited for improper sewage or waste water disposal and improper sanitizing solution or procedures.
What These Violations Mean
The food-from-unapproved-source citations at Dough Show, Hunan Wok, and Hibachi Express are among the most consequential findings of the week. When food bypasses licensed distributors and USDA or FDA inspection, there is no traceability. If a customer gets sick, investigators have no chain of custody to follow. The food may harbor Listeria, Salmonella, or other pathogens that approved suppliers are required to test against.
The cluster of employee illness and health policy violations, documented at Dough Show, Hunan Wok, La Nopalera, 5th Element Taste of India, Tulua Bistro, Jumpin Jax, Melting Pot, and Centurion Cafe, represents the most direct transmission pathway for Norovirus. A sick food worker with no policy requiring them to report symptoms can infect dozens of customers before anyone connects the illnesses to a single meal.
Handwashing failures appeared at nearly every major violator this week, and the specific citation matters. Inadequate facilities, cited at Hunan Wok, Hiro, 5th Element, and Deercreek Country Club, means the physical infrastructure for washing hands is missing or broken. Improper technique, cited at Dough Show, La Nopalera, Hiro, 5th Element, Tulua Bistro, and Centurion Cafe, means employees are attempting to wash their hands but not removing pathogens. Both failures leave the same result: contaminated hands touching food.
The cooking temperature violations at Deercreek Country Club, Melting Pot, and Mission BBQ are a direct Salmonella risk. Poultry must reach 165 degrees Fahrenheit internally to kill Salmonella. Food that falls short of that threshold and reaches a plate is not a theoretical hazard. It is a documented one.
The Longer Record
Two facilities on this week's list carry inspection histories that put the current findings in sharper relief. 5th Element Taste of India has 59 prior inspections on record, the longest history of any facility cited this week, and is still drawing citations for no person in charge, employees not reporting illness, and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned. La Nopalera has 55 prior inspections and was cited this week for sewage disposal violations alongside chemical storage and food safety failures.
Dough Show and Hunan Wok each have 27 prior inspections. The violations documented at Dough Show this week, including food from an unapproved source and missing parasite destruction records, are not the kind that appear because a manager stepped out for an hour. They reflect systemic practices.
Two facilities are relative newcomers by inspection count and already drawing serious citations. Tulua Bistro has only 9 prior inspections and drew two separate chemical storage violations this week alongside hand washing and food contact surface failures. Jumpin Jax House of Food also has 9 prior inspections and was cited for no employee health policy and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
Deercreek Country Club has 30 prior inspections and drew its cooking temperature citation this week with no person in charge present, a combination that inspectors and CDC data consistently link to cascading compliance failures throughout a kitchen.
The shell stock identification failure appears at Dough Show, Hunan Wok, Hiro Japanese Restaurant, and Hibachi Express. Four separate facilities, across different ownership and cuisine types, all unable to document where their shellfish came from.