HOMESTEAD, FL. Toxic chemicals were stored improperly near food at La Michoacana at 344/346 Washington Ave during a June 8 inspection that turned up six high-severity violations and four intermediate ones. The facility was not closed.
That chemical storage citation carries one of the most direct risks in food safety: a mislabeled or misplaced cleaning agent near food or food-contact surfaces can cause acute poisoning with no warning to the customer who eats what it contaminated.
What Inspectors Found
Inspectors also cited the facility for shellfish without proper identification records. Oysters, clams, and mussels sold without traceability documentation mean there is no way to determine the harvest location or date if a customer gets sick.
Food contact surfaces were found not properly cleaned or sanitized, a citation that covers the cutting boards, prep tables, and equipment that food touches directly before it reaches a customer. The inspector also noted that time as a public health control was not being used correctly, meaning food was sitting in the temperature danger zone longer than the rules allow without proper tracking.
The facility had no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked foods, leaving customers with no notice that certain items carry elevated risk. Employees were also observed using improper handwashing technique, which inspectors note leaves pathogens on hands even when a washing attempt is made.
On the intermediate level, inspectors cited improper sewage or wastewater disposal, multi-use utensils not properly cleaned, single-use items being reused, and inadequate ventilation and lighting.
What These Violations Mean
The chemical storage violation is worth reading carefully. When cleaning agents, sanitizers, or pesticides are stored near food or food-contact surfaces without proper labeling or separation, contamination can happen without anyone noticing. A customer would have no way of knowing. The health risk is acute poisoning, not a slow-developing foodborne illness.
The shellfish traceability violation compounds the risk for anyone who ordered raw or lightly cooked shellfish. Without shell stock identification records, there is no way to trace a product back to its harvest bed if an illness cluster emerges. That traceability is the entire mechanism by which public health officials identify and stop an outbreak.
The improper sewage disposal citation is among the most alarming intermediate violations an inspector can write. Raw sewage contains fecal bacteria including E. coli and norovirus. If wastewater is not properly contained and routed, it can reach food preparation surfaces, and it does not require direct contact to contaminate a kitchen.
Improper handwashing technique, combined with improperly cleaned food contact surfaces and reused single-use items, creates overlapping contamination pathways. Each violation alone is serious. Together, they describe a facility where multiple hygiene barriers were failing at the same time on the same day.
The Longer Record
The June 8 inspection was the twentieth on record for La Michoacana. Across those 20 inspections, state records show 231 total violations. The facility has never been emergency-closed.
The pattern in the inspection history is not a recent decline. In January 2024, inspectors cited seven high-severity and five intermediate violations. In May 2024, six high-severity and three intermediate. In October 2025, the highest single-visit count in the recent record: ten high-severity violations and five intermediate ones.
That October 2025 inspection stands out. Ten high-severity violations in a single visit is a significant finding. Three months later, in December 2025, inspectors returned and found three high-severity and three intermediate violations. The June 2026 inspection brought the high-severity count back up to six.
The facility has cycled through elevated violation counts, partial reductions, and renewed spikes across multiple inspection years. The categories repeat: food safety controls, surface sanitation, handwashing. None of the eight prior inspections with documented high-severity violations resulted in an emergency closure.
Still Open
State inspectors documented six high-severity violations at La Michoacana on June 8, 2026, including toxic chemicals stored near food, shellfish without traceability records, and improper sewage disposal. They also found that employees were not washing their hands correctly, that food contact surfaces were not properly sanitized, and that no warning existed for customers ordering raw or undercooked items.
The restaurant was not closed.
It was the twentieth inspection on record for the facility, which has accumulated 231 violations over its inspection history without a single emergency closure order.