ORLANDO, FL. An inspector visiting Kosher Grill at 5615 International Drive on May 20, 2026 found that food on the premises came from unapproved or unknown sources, a violation that means customers had no way of knowing whether what they ate had ever passed a federal safety inspection.
The restaurant was not closed. It accumulated eight high-severity violations and three intermediate violations in a single inspection and continued operating.
What Inspectors Found
The food sourcing violation stood alongside a finding that parasite destruction procedures had not been followed. That means fish or other items requiring mandatory freezing or cooking protocols to kill parasites including Anisakis and tapeworm were served without those steps being completed.
The inspector also cited inadequate shell stock identification records. Shellfish carry a distinct traceability requirement because oysters, clams, and mussels are often eaten raw. Without those records, there is no way to trace an illness back to a harvest lot if a customer gets sick.
Food contact surfaces were not properly cleaned or sanitized, and the inspector noted improper use of wiping cloths, a combination that creates a direct route for bacteria to move from one surface to food. No consumer advisory for raw or undercooked items was posted, leaving customers with no notice that items on the menu carried elevated risk.
The handwashing picture was also notable. The inspector cited both inadequate handwashing facilities and improper hand and arm washing technique, meaning the physical infrastructure for hygiene was deficient and the technique being used at whatever facilities existed was also wrong. The restaurant had no employee health policy, removing the formal mechanism that would require sick workers to stay out of the kitchen.
What These Violations Mean
Food from unapproved sources is not a paperwork problem. It means the food bypassed USDA and FDA inspection systems entirely. If a customer became ill, there would be no supply chain record to trace, no harvest date, no processor. The parasite destruction failure compounds that: fish that has not been properly frozen or cooked to required temperatures can carry Anisakis, a roundworm that embeds in the stomach lining and causes severe abdominal pain, or tapeworm larvae that can migrate to organs.
The shell stock traceability violation is its own category of risk. Shellfish filter-feed in open water and concentrate bacteria, viruses, and toxins from their environment. The tagging and record system exists specifically so that a single contaminated harvest lot can be pulled before more people are exposed. Without those records at Kosher Grill, that system does not work.
The combination of no employee health policy, inadequate handwashing facilities, and documented improper technique describes a kitchen where a worker who is sick has no formal obligation to report it, no adequate place to wash their hands, and is not washing them correctly when they try. Norovirus spreads efficiently through exactly this chain, and it takes fewer than 20 viral particles to cause illness.
Improperly sanitized food contact surfaces and wiping cloths used incorrectly add a physical transfer route on top of the hand hygiene failures. These are not independent violations. They reinforce each other.
The Longer Record
The May 2026 inspection was not an anomaly for this address. State records show 37 inspections on file for Kosher Grill, with 378 total violations documented across that history.
The pattern in recent years is consistent. The October 2024 inspection produced seven high-severity violations. The March 2025 inspection produced five high-severity violations. The October 2025 inspection produced four high-severity violations and two intermediate violations. The May 2026 inspection, at eight high-severity violations, is the worst single inspection in the recent run.
Two clean inspections in late 2025, on December 30 and January 7, 2026, briefly interrupted the pattern. Those back-to-back visits with zero high-severity findings now look like an outlier. Within five months, the facility was back to its highest documented violation count.
The restaurant has never been emergency-closed in its inspection history on record. That fact does not reflect a clean record. It reflects 37 inspections, 378 violations, a persistent pattern of high-severity citations in food sourcing and hygiene, and a facility that has remained open through all of it.
The Longer Record
After eight high-severity violations on May 20, 2026, Kosher Grill on International Drive remained open.