PORT CHARLOTTE, FL. A state inspector walked into the McAlister's Deli at 19570 Cochran Blvd on September 10 and left behind a report citing six high-severity violations, including food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, employees failing to report illness symptoms, and toxic substances improperly stored or used. The restaurant was not closed.
That combination, six high-priority citations in a single visit, would trigger an emergency closure at many Florida food service establishments. Here, it did not.
What Inspectors Found
The undercooking violation is the most direct threat to anyone who ordered poultry that day. Salmonella survives in chicken below 165 degrees Fahrenheit, and a customer eating undercooked poultry has no way of knowing it.
Inspectors also documented that employees were not properly washing their hands before handling food. That violation, combined with the finding that food contact surfaces like cutting boards and prep equipment were not properly cleaned or sanitized, creates a layered contamination risk that compounds with every item prepared.
The toxic substance citation adds a separate and immediate danger. Chemicals improperly stored or identified near food preparation areas can contaminate food directly, with no warning to the customer and no cooking step that would neutralize the exposure.
The seventh violation, improper sewage or wastewater disposal, was classified as intermediate. Raw sewage carries fecal bacteria throughout any surface it contacts. That violation alone has triggered closures at other Florida facilities.
What These Violations Mean
The illness-reporting violation is the one that tends to spread damage beyond a single meal. When food workers are not required or trained to disclose symptoms, a sick employee can transmit norovirus to dozens of customers before anyone connects the cases. Norovirus is the leading cause of multi-victim foodborne outbreaks in the United States, and it spreads through exactly this pathway: an ill employee handles food without reporting symptoms, and customers become sick days later with no obvious link back to the source.
The handwashing and surface sanitation violations work together. Hands carry bacteria from raw proteins, from surfaces, from everything an employee touches during a shift. When those hands are not properly washed and the surfaces they contact are not properly sanitized, the contamination moves freely from one food item to the next. A customer ordering a sandwich has no visibility into whether the cutting board that held raw chicken was cleaned before their bread touched it.
The undercooking violation is the point at which a pathogen that could have been destroyed survives to reach a customer's plate. Salmonella in poultry is not a theoretical risk. It is a documented, recurring cause of foodborne illness, and the only reliable control is heat. Below 165 degrees, that control fails.
The consumer advisory violation matters specifically for customers who are elderly, pregnant, immunocompromised, or caring for young children. Without a posted advisory, those customers cannot make an informed decision about whether to eat items that may be served undercooked.
The Longer Record
The September 10 inspection was the most serious in the facility's recorded history, but it did not come without warning. State records show five prior inspections at this location going back to December 2023, with high-severity violations documented in four of those five visits.
The facility's cleanest inspection on record was its first, in December 2023, when inspectors found zero high or intermediate violations. Every inspection since has produced at least one high-severity citation. The July 2024 visit produced two high and two intermediate violations. The February 2026 visit produced one high and one intermediate.
The September 10 inspection, with six high-severity violations and one intermediate, represents a sharp escalation from any prior visit. The facility has never been emergency-closed in its six inspections on record.
A follow-up inspection eight days later, on September 18, found one high-severity violation and one intermediate still present. The restaurant had reduced its violation count from seven to two, but had not fully resolved the record.
Still Open
Florida's inspection system gives the state authority to order an emergency closure when conditions present an immediate public health hazard. Six high-severity violations in a single inspection, including undercooking, improper handwashing, mishandled toxic chemicals, and a sewage disposal problem, did not meet that threshold at this location on September 10.
The McAlister's Deli on Cochran Boulevard served customers through the inspection and after it.
