MIAMI, FL. Back in February 2026, state agriculture inspectors walked into J'S Food Market on Northwest 7th Avenue and found the backroom hand sink blocked by items sitting in the basin, no hand towels at that same sink, and a person in charge who could not answer basic questions about preventing foodborne illness.
The February 6 inspection, conducted by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, turned up 13 total violations. Four of those were classified as priority foundation, the tier just below the most serious category, meaning they involve the foundational practices and equipment that keep a food operation safe.
None of the violations were corrected on site.
What Inspectors Found
The inspector's notes on the hand sink were direct: items had been left sitting in the basin, making it inaccessible, and no hand towels were stocked nearby. A second hand sink, in the store's only restroom, had a different problem. The inspector recorded "soil build up" on the basin and faucets, and noted the hot water faucet was damaged.
The empanadas hot holding cabinet and the dairy reach-in display cooler were both missing ambient air thermometers, meaning staff had no way to confirm either unit was holding food at a safe temperature. The store also had no probe thermometer, which is the tool used to check the internal temperature of individual food items. Without it, there is no way to verify that hot foods are hot enough or that refrigerated items have not drifted into the danger zone.
The chlorine sanitizer test strips were not available at the time of inspection. Those strips are the standard method for verifying that sanitizing solution used on food-contact surfaces is mixed at the correct concentration.
The inspector also noted that idle, unused equipment, specifically a fryer and a sandwich prep cooler, was stored dirty in the backroom.
Outside, the dumpster enclosure had trash build-up on the grounds.
What These Violations Mean
The blocked hand sink is more than a housekeeping issue. In a food retail environment where employees handle packaged goods, prepared foods like empanadas, and dairy products, hand hygiene is the first line of defense against contamination. A sink that cannot be reached, or one that lacks towels, means employees have no practical way to complete a proper hand wash between tasks. The inspector found both conditions at the same sink in the backroom.
The person in charge failing food safety questions is a separate but related concern. State rules require that whoever is running a food establishment at any given moment be able to explain how to prevent foodborne illness. When that person cannot do so, it signals that the practices behind the violations may not be understood as problems at all.
The missing thermometers compound the temperature issue. J'S Food Market sells empanadas from a hot holding cabinet and dairy products from a reach-in cooler. Without an ambient thermometer in either unit and no probe thermometer anywhere in the store, staff had no documented way to confirm those foods were safe. Hot foods must stay above 135 degrees Fahrenheit to prevent bacterial growth. Dairy and other refrigerated items must stay at or below 41 degrees. Neither threshold can be verified without the instruments to measure it.
The absent chlorine test strips matter because sanitizer that is too weak does not kill pathogens on food-contact surfaces, and sanitizer that is too strong can itself become a chemical hazard. The strips are the check on that balance.
The Longer Record
The February 2026 inspection was only the second FDACS inspection on record at this location. The first, a focused inspection conducted on October 2, 2024, found zero violations.
That prior clean record makes the February findings harder to explain away as a rough day. A focused inspection in late 2024 found nothing. Sixteen months later, a full sanitation inspection found 13 violations across multiple categories, including four priority foundation failures.
The store met the overall sanitation inspection requirements despite the 13 violations, which is a threshold determination by the inspector. But none of the 13 violations were corrected while the inspector was present.
The probe thermometer was still absent when the inspector left. The hand sink in the backroom was still blocked. The person in charge still could not answer questions about foodborne illness prevention.