NEW SMYRNA, FL. A state inspector walked into Limoncello South on East Third Avenue on August 12 and found food not cooked to the required minimum temperature, toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled, and no written employee health policy in place. The restaurant was not closed.
The inspection logged 8 high-severity violations and 3 intermediate violations. Under Florida law, emergency closure is discretionary, and the state opted to leave Limoncello South operating.
What Inspectors Found
The undercooked food violation is the most direct threat to anyone who ate at Limoncello South that day. Salmonella in poultry survives below 165 degrees Fahrenheit, and the violation means food left the kitchen without reaching the temperature required to kill it.
Toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled near food is not a routine paperwork problem. A mislabeled or misplaced chemical container can contaminate food directly, and the consequences can be acute rather than gradual.
The absence of a written employee health policy and the separate citation for employees not reporting illness symptoms compound each other. Neither violation exists in isolation at Limoncello South; both were cited on the same day, in the same kitchen.
What These Violations Mean
The combination of no illness policy and no illness reporting is among the most dangerous patterns a state inspector can document. Norovirus, which causes roughly 20 million illnesses in the United States annually, spreads most efficiently when infected food workers continue handling food without restriction. A written health policy is the mechanism that requires workers to disclose symptoms and stay home. Without it, there is no documented standard, and no way to enforce one.
The time-as-public-health-control violation adds another layer. When a kitchen uses time rather than refrigeration to keep food safe, it operates under a strict window. Food left in the temperature danger zone beyond that window becomes a bacterial growth problem, and the inspector found that window was not being properly tracked.
Improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, combined with multi-use utensils not properly cleaned, means contamination can travel from one dish to the next without the kitchen staff knowing it. Bacterial biofilms develop on inadequately cleaned surfaces within 24 hours and resist standard cleaning once established.
The sewage disposal violation is the one that stops readers. Improper wastewater disposal creates the possibility of fecal contamination spreading through the facility, and it was present in a kitchen that also lacked proper illness controls.
The Longer Record
Limoncello South: Recent Inspection History
The August 12 inspection is not an outlier. State records show 37 inspections on file for this location, with 264 total violations accumulated across that history. Limoncello South has never been emergency-closed.
The April 2026 stretch is particularly difficult to explain away. On April 20, inspectors cited 11 high-severity violations and 3 intermediate violations. Seven days later, a follow-up inspection still produced 7 high-severity violations. The restaurant was not closed after either visit.
The September 2025 inspection logged 8 high-severity violations, the identical count as August 12. The February 2025 inspection logged 9. The facility has now recorded 5 or more high-severity violations in at least six of its last eight inspections on record.
A follow-up inspection five days after August 12, on August 17, still found 3 high-severity violations and 1 intermediate violation. The kitchen that served customers on August 12 with 8 high-severity violations active, including undercooked food and improperly stored chemicals, was still producing high-severity citations nearly a week later.
