JACKSONVILLE, FL. Three restaurants serving raw fish, shellfish, and lightly cooked proteins each drew citations this week for failing to follow parasite destruction procedures, a violation that means customers at Soupa Noodle Bar on Southside Boulevard, Volcano Sushi House on Hodges Boulevard, and Terra Gaucha Brazilian Steakhouse on Southside Boulevard may have been served fish or meat harboring live Anisakis worms or Trichinella without any documented freezing or cooking protocol in place to kill them.
Soupa Noodle Bar and Volcano Sushi House each accumulated 10 high-severity violations during the week of October 2 through October 8, the highest totals among 15 Duval County restaurants flagged by state inspectors.
What Inspectors Found
At Soupa Noodle Bar, inspectors also cited the restaurant for food not cooked to required minimum temperature, food in poor condition, inadequate shellfish traceability records, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked items. There was no written employee health policy in place, and inspectors found improper handwashing technique being used by staff.
Volcano Sushi House carried two violations not shared by the other top offenders: food from an unapproved or unknown source, and food contaminated by chemical, physical, or biological hazards. Food from unapproved sources bypasses USDA and FDA safety inspections entirely, meaning there is no traceability if a customer becomes ill.
Terra Gaucha Brazilian Steakhouse also drew a citation for food from an unapproved source, along with inadequate handwashing facilities, food contaminated by chemical or biological hazards, and no shellfish traceability records. Ten high-severity violations at a Brazilian steakhouse, a format built around continuous tableside meat service, is notable.
Senor Loco Tacos and Tequila on Southside Boulevard drew nine high-severity violations, including toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled alongside food preparation areas, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, and no consumer advisory. Inadequate handwashing facilities were also cited, meaning the infrastructure for basic hygiene was not in place, not merely being used incorrectly.
Hot Wok on University Boulevard North drew the same nine-violation count, with inspectors citing both no employee health policy and a separate violation for employees not reporting symptoms of illness. Those two violations together describe a workplace where sick workers have no formal obligation to stay home and no structured system telling them to do so.
DoubleTree by Hilton on Riverplace Boulevard drew eight high-severity violations, including a citation for no person in charge present or performing duties. CDC data cited in the inspection record links that finding directly to a threefold increase in critical violations. Inspectors also found food contaminated by chemical, physical, or biological hazards, employees not reporting illness symptoms, and toxic chemicals improperly stored.
Purple Roots on Southside Boulevard, operating in the same shopping complex as Soupa Noodle Bar, drew eight high-severity violations including food not cooked to required minimum temperature, parasite destruction failures, no consumer advisory, and toxic chemicals improperly stored. A citation for no person in charge was also recorded.
China Moon on West Beaver Street drew eight high-severity violations, among them a citation for time as a public health control not properly used. That violation means food was left in the bacterial growth temperature range, between 41 and 135 degrees Fahrenheit, without a documented time limit or discard protocol.
China Kitchen on Collins Road accumulated eight high-severity violations as well, including no allergen awareness demonstrated and toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used. Inspectors also cited no person in charge, employees not reporting illness symptoms, and food in poor condition.
Golden Corral on Memorial Park Road drew seven high-severity violations, including no approved potable water supply and food from an unapproved source. An intermediate violation for improper sewage or wastewater disposal was also recorded. A buffet-format restaurant with no documented potable water source and a sewage disposal problem operating simultaneously is a combination that warrants attention.
Chuy's on Town Center Parkway drew seven high-severity violations, including food not cooked to required minimum temperature, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, and two separate toxic chemical citations. An intermediate violation for improper sewage or wastewater disposal was also recorded.
Fast Eddy's Quick Mideast on Baymeadows Road drew seven high-severity violations, including parasite destruction failures, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, and improperly cleaned food contact surfaces. An intermediate violation for multi-use utensils not properly cleaned was also documented.
JL Trents Seafood and Grill on 120th Street drew six high-severity violations alongside four intermediate violations, the highest intermediate count of any facility this week. Improper sewage or wastewater disposal appeared as an intermediate violation, alongside multi-use utensils not properly cleaned, inadequate shellfish traceability records, and toxic chemical storage failures.
Thai Cuisine and Noodle House on San Jose Boulevard was the single facility among the 15 to record no high-severity violations, drawing only one intermediate citation for improperly reused single-use items.
What These Violations Mean
The parasite destruction failure cited at Soupa Noodle Bar, Volcano Sushi House, Terra Gaucha Brazilian Steakhouse, Senor Loco Tacos and Tequila, Purple Roots, and Fast Eddy's Quick Mideast is one of the least visible but most direct risks in this week's data. When a restaurant serves raw or undercooked fish or pork without documented freezing protocols, there is no kill step between a parasite in the food and the customer who eats it. Anisakis worms, which infect saltwater fish, can cause severe abdominal pain and require surgical removal. Trichinella in undercooked pork causes muscle inflammation that can last for months.
The unapproved food source citations at Volcano Sushi House, Terra Gaucha Brazilian Steakhouse, and Golden Corral describe a traceability gap. Food from suppliers outside the approved regulatory chain has not been inspected for Listeria, Salmonella, or other pathogens. If a customer becomes ill after eating at one of those restaurants, investigators have no supply chain to trace.
The combination of no employee health policy and employees not reporting illness symptoms, documented together at Hot Wok this week and separately across multiple other facilities, is the condition most directly associated with multi-victim outbreaks. Norovirus, which causes the majority of foodborne illness outbreaks in restaurant settings, requires only a microscopic fecal particle to transmit. A sick employee with no obligation to report symptoms and no written policy directing them to stay home is, according to the inspection record's own language, the number one cause of multi-victim outbreaks.
Golden Corral's simultaneous citations for no approved potable water supply and improper sewage disposal are infrastructure failures, not technique failures. Water used for food preparation, ice, and handwashing at that location had no documented approval as potable during the inspection period.
The Longer Record
Chuy's and Thai Cuisine and Noodle House each have 36 prior inspections on record, the longest histories of any facilities cited this week. Chuy's used that long inspection history to accumulate seven high-severity violations this week, including dual toxic chemical citations and a sewage disposal problem. Thai Cuisine and Noodle House, with the identical inspection count, drew no high-severity violations.
Golden Corral has 35 prior inspections on record. The facility's citation this week for no approved potable water supply is not a paperwork error. It is a finding that, across 35 documented inspections, the facility's water supply status came into question again.
China Moon has 30 prior inspections on record. China Kitchen has 27. Both drew eight high-severity violations this week, and both were cited for employees not reporting illness symptoms, a violation that requires active management attention to prevent.
Volcano Sushi House and Terra Gaucha Brazilian Steakhouse each have 25 prior inspections on record. Both were cited this week for food from unapproved sources and inadequate shellfish traceability, violations that suggest supplier documentation practices have not been resolved across those inspection histories.
BB.Q Chicken on Deer Lake Court has only 11 prior inspections on record, the shortest history among the high-severity facilities this week, yet it drew eight high-severity violations including no allergen awareness demonstrated. That citation means staff could not demonstrate knowledge of the 14 major food allergens during the inspection, a finding at a restaurant with fewer than a dozen inspections behind it.
Soupa Noodle Bar has 24 prior inspections on record and drew 10 high-severity violations this week, including both a failure to cook food to required minimum temperature and no consumer advisory informing customers that raw or undercooked items carry risk. Those two violations together describe a kitchen serving undercooked food to customers who have not been told it is undercooked.
