MIAMI, FL. State inspectors cited New Canton on SW 8th Street for 11 high-severity violations during the week of August 3, the highest single-facility count among 15 Miami restaurants flagged for serious food safety failures in seven days.
The violations at New Canton included food from unapproved or unknown sources, inadequate handwashing by food employees, improper hand and arm washing technique, food in poor condition or adulterated, and a failure to follow parasite destruction procedures for fish. Inspectors also documented inadequate shell stock identification, food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, and time being used improperly as a public health control.
That last violation is one inspectors treat as a direct substitution for temperature control. When a facility cannot or does not maintain cold or hot holding temperatures, state rules allow food to stay in the danger zone for a defined window, but only if the time is tracked precisely and the food is discarded at the end. At New Canton, that system was not being followed properly.
The Week's Other Notable Findings
Pho Tastic on SW 88th Street drew 10 high-severity violations, including no person in charge present or performing duties, no employee health policy, employees not reporting symptoms of illness, improper handwashing technique, and food not cooked to required minimum temperatures. Inspectors also documented failures in parasite destruction procedures and inadequate shell stock identification.
Sadelle's Coconut Grove on Mary Street accumulated 9 high-severity violations, among them food from unapproved sources, no person in charge, no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness symptoms, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, and no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked items.
Versailles on SW 8th Street, one of Miami's most recognized Cuban restaurants, was cited for 9 high-severity violations. Those included inadequate handwashing, food from unapproved sources, inadequate shell stock identification, parasite destruction failures, food not cooked to minimum temperature, time used improperly as a public health control, no consumer advisory for raw foods, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled.
S 47 Lounge on Brickell Avenue also reached 9 high-severity violations, including inadequate handwashing, food in poor condition, inadequate shell stock identification, food not cooked to required temperatures, time control failures, no consumer advisory, and improperly stored toxic chemicals.
Amalfi Llama Miami on Biscayne Boulevard was cited for 8 high-severity violations, including no person in charge, no employee health policy, food from unapproved sources, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, and no allergen awareness demonstrated by staff. That last citation is among the more acute risks inspectors document: food allergies send roughly 30,000 Americans to emergency rooms each year, and a kitchen with no allergen protocol has no system to prevent a reaction.
Coyo Taco on NW 2nd Avenue drew 8 high-severity violations, including no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, food not cooked to minimum temperature, time control failures, no consumer advisory, and improperly stored toxic chemicals.
Three Restaurants Closed by Emergency Order
Three facilities were shut down by emergency order during the same week. Tacombi at 3930 NE 2nd Avenue was closed August 6 after inspectors documented both rodent and fly activity. Eleventh Street Pizza at 9025 SW 72nd Place was closed August 3 for fly activity. Pack Supermarket on NE 2nd Avenue was closed the same day after inspectors found rodent activity on the premises.
Pack Supermarket also appeared in the high-severity violation list for the week, with a citation for food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, alongside three intermediate violations including improper sewage or wastewater disposal and single-use items being improperly reused.
Yes! Cafe and Pizza on NE 79th Street was cited for 7 high-severity violations, including no employee health policy, improper handwashing technique, inadequate shell stock identification, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, time control failures, no consumer advisory, and improperly stored toxic chemicals. Inspectors also noted improper sewage or wastewater disposal as an intermediate violation.
Fritanga Momotombo on SW 137th Avenue drew 7 high-severity violations, among them employees not reporting illness symptoms, inadequate shell stock identification, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, food not cooked to required temperatures, no consumer advisory, and two separate chemical storage violations: toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled, and toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used.
Antigua Guatemala on W Flagler Street was cited for 7 high-severity violations, including inadequate handwashing by food employees, improper handwashing technique, food in poor condition or adulterated, inadequate shell stock identification, food not cooked to minimum temperature, time control failures, and improperly stored toxic chemicals. Inspectors also flagged inadequate cooling and cold holding equipment.
What These Violations Mean
The handwashing violations documented at New Canton, Pho Tastic, Versailles, S 47 Lounge, Antigua Guatemala, Amalfi Llama Miami, and Coyo Taco are not procedural paperwork failures. Hands are the primary vehicle for transferring pathogens from surfaces, raw proteins, and bodily contact directly onto food that customers eat. Inspectors cited both inadequate handwashing and improper technique at several of these facilities, meaning employees were either skipping the step entirely or performing it in a way that left pathogens behind.
The employee illness violations at Pho Tastic, Sadelle's Coconut Grove, Coyo Taco, and Fritanga Momotombo represent a different and more direct exposure pathway. Norovirus, which causes the majority of foodborne illness outbreaks in the United States, is shed by infected individuals before symptoms fully appear. A kitchen without a written health policy has no mechanism to identify sick workers before they handle food, and no documentation trail if an outbreak occurs.
Shell stock identification failures, documented at New Canton, Pho Tastic, S 47 Lounge, Versailles, Yes! Cafe and Pizza, Chugs, Fritanga Momotombo, and Antigua Guatemala, matter specifically because shellfish are frequently consumed raw or barely cooked. Without intact harvest tags, there is no way to trace an oyster or clam back to its harvest bed if a customer becomes ill. That traceability gap is what allows a localized contamination event to become an unresolved outbreak.
The chemical storage violations at Versailles, S 47 Lounge, Coyo Taco, Rinconcito Latino Sunset, Yes! Cafe and Pizza, Fritanga Momotombo, and Antigua Guatemala are worth noting for a specific reason: improperly stored or unlabeled cleaning chemicals stored near food or food contact surfaces can cause acute poisoning without any visible sign of contamination. A customer would not know from taste or smell that a surface had been wiped with an undiluted sanitizer or that a cleaning product had been stored above an uncovered food prep area.
The Longer Record
Several of this week's most-cited facilities are not newcomers to state scrutiny. Versailles has 31 prior inspections on record, as does Antigua Guatemala. Yes! Cafe and Pizza has 32 prior inspections, Chugs on Main Highway has 35, and Rinconcito Latino Sunset leads the group with 37 inspections on record. All five were cited again this week for high-severity violations.
Coyo Taco has 28 prior inspections, Canton Sushi Maki Dadeland has 29, and S 47 Lounge has 26. Each was cited for multiple high-severity violations this week despite those accumulated inspection histories.
The outlier in the opposite direction is Amalfi Llama Miami, which has only 7 prior inspections on record and already accumulated 8 high-severity violations in a single visit, including no employee health policy, no person in charge, and no allergen awareness demonstrated by staff. A facility that young in its inspection history accumulating that volume of critical failures suggests foundational food safety systems were never put in place.
Pack Supermarket had 26 prior inspections on record before this week's emergency closure for rodent activity. Whether prior inspections documented conditions that preceded this week's closure is a question the public record does not yet answer.
