APOPKA, FL. State inspectors visiting La Granja Chicken Steak and Seafood on East Semoran Boulevard on August 3 found that the restaurant was serving food sourced from unapproved or unknown suppliers, a violation that means there is no way to trace that food back through the supply chain if a customer gets sick.
That was one of seven high-severity violations documented in a single inspection. The restaurant was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The unapproved food source citation stands out because La Granja's name includes seafood. The restaurant also received a separate violation for inadequate shell stock identification records, meaning shellfish on the premises, whether oysters, clams, or mussels, could not be traced to a certified harvester or processor.
Inspectors also documented that no allergen awareness was demonstrated by staff. That finding, combined with a menu that includes seafood, is among the more acute risks in the report. Shellfish is one of the eight major food allergens recognized by the FDA.
Food contact surfaces were not properly cleaned or sanitized, and the restaurant was cited for misusing time as a public health control. When a facility opts to use time rather than temperature to keep food safe, it must follow a strict written protocol. The inspection found that protocol was not being followed properly, meaning food was allowed to sit in the temperature danger zone, between 41 and 135 degrees, without adequate controls.
Employees were also observed using improper handwashing technique. Equipment was found in poor repair, and wiping cloths were being used improperly. Ventilation and lighting were cited as inadequate.
What These Violations Mean
Food from unapproved sources is not a paperwork problem. When a restaurant buys food outside the regulated supply chain, that food has not been inspected by the USDA or FDA. If it carries Listeria, Salmonella, or another pathogen, there is no tag, no lot number, and no distributor record to follow when investigators try to trace an illness outbreak back to its source.
The shell stock traceability violation compounds that risk specifically for shellfish. Oysters, clams, and mussels are frequently eaten raw or lightly cooked. State and federal rules require that every batch of shellfish arrive with a tag identifying the harvest location and date, precisely because shellfish filter-feed in water and can concentrate bacteria and viruses including Vibrio and norovirus. Without those records, a sick customer has no recourse and health officials have no trail.
The allergen awareness failure is a direct threat to specific customers. Food allergies affect an estimated 32 million Americans, and allergic reactions send roughly 30,000 people to emergency rooms each year. At a restaurant serving chicken, steak, and seafood, staff who cannot identify allergens or respond to customer questions about ingredients put shellfish-allergic diners at serious risk.
Improperly sanitized food contact surfaces, the kind of cutting boards and prep tables that touch raw proteins and then touch ready-to-eat food, are one of the most consistent vectors for bacterial cross-contamination in commercial kitchens. Combined with improper handwashing technique, the August 3 inspection describes a kitchen where multiple pathogen transfer routes were simultaneously open.
The Longer Record
The August 3 inspection was not an anomaly. Records show La Granja on East Semoran Boulevard has been inspected 28 times, accumulating 270 total violations across that history.
The pattern in recent years is consistent. Inspectors found five high-severity violations in March 2024, seven high-severity violations in September 2024, five more in March 2025, five more in September 2025, and five more in March 2026. The August 2026 inspection, at seven high-severity violations, matches the September 2024 count as the highest single-visit total in recent memory.
The one clean inspection in this stretch stands out. In October 2024, a follow-up visit one day after the September 30 inspection found zero high-severity and zero intermediate violations. That result shows the kitchen is capable of meeting standards. The question the record raises is why those standards are not sustained.
The restaurant has never been emergency-closed in 28 inspections on record. That includes the September 2024 visit with seven high-severity violations, and now the August 2026 visit with the same count.
Still Open
State inspectors left La Granja on East Semoran Boulevard on August 3 with ten violations documented, seven of them high-severity, including food of unknown origin and a kitchen staff that could not demonstrate allergen awareness.
The restaurant remained open.
