HIALEAH, FL. Toxic chemicals were stored improperly near food at Latin Churro on West 84th Street when a state inspector visited on July 30, one of six high-severity violations documented at the Hialeah shop that day. The restaurant was not closed.
The inspection at 3300 W 84 Street, Bay 1 turned up a list of failures that stretched from management to food handling to the products on the shelf. Six violations were classified as high-severity. Two more were intermediate. At the end of the visit, the restaurant kept its doors open.
What Inspectors Found
The chemical storage violation sits at the top of the list for a reason. Cleaning agents, sanitizers, and other toxic compounds stored near or above food preparation areas can contaminate food directly, and mislabeled chemical containers create a poisoning risk that is immediate and acute.
The inspector also found food in poor condition, described as mislabeled or adulterated. There was no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked foods, meaning customers with compromised immune systems, pregnant women, the elderly, and young children had no warning about items that carry elevated risk when served undercooked.
Employees were observed using improper handwashing technique. The shop had no written employee health policy. And no person in charge was present or performing supervisory duties during the visit.
The two intermediate violations covered multi-use utensils that were not properly cleaned and inadequate ventilation and lighting in the facility.
What These Violations Mean
The combination of no person in charge, no employee health policy, and improper handwashing technique is not three separate problems. It is one problem expressed three ways: nobody at this facility was managing food safety in any systematic way on July 30.
CDC data cited in the inspection record shows that establishments without active managerial control have three times more critical violations than those with engaged supervision. When the person responsible for enforcing food safety rules is absent or disengaged, everything else on this list becomes more likely, not less.
The employee health policy violation compounds that risk directly. Without a written policy requiring sick workers to stay home or report symptoms, there is no formal barrier between a food handler with Norovirus and the food being served to customers. Norovirus accounts for roughly 20 million infections in the United States each year, and food workers are a primary transmission route.
Improper handwashing technique deserves its own sentence: studies show that an incomplete handwashing attempt can leave nearly as many pathogens on a worker's hands as no handwashing at all. The motion matters, not just the intention. At Latin Churro on July 30, inspectors observed the technique was wrong.
The Longer Record
Latin Churro: Recent Inspection History
The July 30 inspection was not a bad day at an otherwise clean operation. Latin Churro has 25 inspections on record and 190 total violations across that history. High-severity violations have appeared in every single inspection listed in the prior record going back to at least December 2023.
The worst single visit on record came in December 2023, when inspectors documented 11 high-severity and 6 intermediate violations in one inspection. The following April brought 6 high-severity violations. July 2024 brought 8. The facility has never been emergency-closed.
The violations recorded on July 30 include categories that have appeared repeatedly across this history: management failures, food handling deficiencies, and food condition issues. The pattern across eight inspections spanning nearly three years shows the same classifications cycling back through the record.
Latin Churro has accumulated 190 violations across 25 inspections without a single emergency closure. After the July 30 visit, with six high-severity violations documented and toxic chemicals stored near food, the restaurant remained open.
