GROVELAND, FL. A state inspector walked into Mamma Rita's Pizzeria and Italian Grill on SR 50 on September 23 and found food not cooked to the required minimum temperature, toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled near food, and no person in charge present or performing duties. The restaurant was not closed.
The inspection produced six high-severity violations and four intermediate ones. State records show the facility remained open throughout.
What Inspectors Found
The undercooked food violation is the most direct threat to anyone who ate there that day. Poultry that has not reached 165 degrees Fahrenheit can carry live Salmonella. A customer has no way to know, looking at a plate of chicken, whether it reached temperature.
The toxic chemicals citation compounds that concern. When cleaning agents or pesticides are stored near or improperly labeled alongside food preparation areas, the contamination risk is not theoretical, it is a matter of proximity and handling error.
Inspectors also cited the restaurant for food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, meaning cutting boards, prep surfaces, or utensils used on raw proteins could have transferred bacteria to ready-to-eat food. The citation for employees not reporting illness symptoms means there was no documented system in place to keep a sick worker off the line.
No consumer advisory was posted for raw or undercooked menu items, meaning customers who are elderly, pregnant, immunocompromised, or caring for young children had no notice that any item on the menu carried elevated risk.
What These Violations Mean
The combination of violations documented on September 23 represents several distinct pathways to a foodborne illness outbreak, operating simultaneously.
Undercooked food and improperly cleaned food contact surfaces are both primary vectors for Salmonella and E. coli transmission. When a kitchen also lacks an active person in charge, there is no one whose job it is to catch either problem before a plate leaves the kitchen.
The employee illness reporting violation is particularly significant. Food workers who do not report symptoms are the leading cause of multi-victim outbreaks. Norovirus, which spreads easily through food handling, requires only a small number of viral particles to sicken a customer. A single sick employee working without restriction can expose dozens of diners in a single shift.
The improper sewage disposal citation adds a separate contamination pathway. Raw sewage carries fecal pathogens, and any contact with food preparation surfaces or equipment creates risk that is entirely separate from temperature or cooking failures. Taken together, the ten violations documented at Mamma Rita's on September 23 describe a kitchen operating without basic safety controls across nearly every category inspectors evaluate.
The Longer Record
The September 23 inspection did not happen in isolation. State records show Mamma Rita's has been inspected 39 times, accumulating 477 total violations across that history.
The week surrounding the September 23 visit tells its own story. On September 22, the day before, inspectors documented 10 high-severity and 5 intermediate violations and issued an emergency closure order for fly activity. The restaurant reopened on September 24, the day after the inspection at issue here, when a follow-up visit found 2 high and 1 intermediate violation still on record.
This was not the first extended stretch of serious findings. In February 2026, inspectors visited the restaurant on three consecutive days, February 18, 19, and 24, logging 9 high violations, then 7 high, then 7 high across those visits. In July 2025, a two-day stretch produced 12 high-severity violations on July 16 followed by 8 high on July 17.
The prior emergency closure, in September 2026, was for fly activity, a pest violation. The violations that preceded and followed that closure, including undercooked food, improperly stored chemicals, and no manager on duty, are not pest violations. They are kitchen operations failures that recur across multiple inspection cycles.
Open for Business
State inspectors have the authority to order an emergency closure when a facility poses an immediate public health threat. On September 22, they used that authority at Mamma Rita's, citing fly activity.
On September 23, with six high-severity violations on the books, including food not cooked to temperature and toxic chemicals improperly stored, the inspector did not issue a closure order.
Mamma Rita's Pizzeria and Italian Grill on SR 50 in Groveland served customers that day.
