MIAMI, FL. Inspectors visiting Totoritas Restaurant at 7367 NW 36 St. during the week of September 20 found no person in charge present, no employee health policy, workers not reporting illness symptoms, inadequate handwashing, improper handwashing technique, shellfish on hand with no identification records, unclean food contact surfaces, and food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, all in a single visit that generated 11 high-severity violations and 2 intermediate citations.
That was the worst single-facility count among 15 Miami-area restaurants that drew high-severity violations during the same seven-day stretch.
The Worst of the Week
The Totoritas inspection is notable beyond the raw count. The simultaneous absence of a person in charge and the absence of an employee health policy are not independent failures. When no manager is present and workers have no written guidance on reporting illness, the conditions for an undetected outbreak are in place before a single piece of food is handled.
Dunkin Donuts 07 at 12561 Biscayne Blvd. drew 10 high-severity violations, a number that would be striking at any restaurant and is especially so at a national chain with standardized operating procedures. Inspectors cited the location for food from an unapproved or unknown source, parasite destruction procedures not followed, shell stock identification records missing, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, improper handwashing technique, unclean food contact surfaces, and no employee health policy.
China Buffet at 1032 SW 67 Ave. collected 9 high-severity violations including employee illness not being reported, improper handwashing technique, missing shell stock records, unclean food contact surfaces, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, time as a public health control not properly used, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
Burger King 5 at 7975 NW 27th Ave. also drew 9 high-severity violations. Among them: food from an unapproved or unknown source, parasite destruction procedures not followed, missing shell stock identification records, toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
Don Criollito at 12039 SW 132 Ct. matched that count with 9 high-severity violations of its own, including food in poor condition or adulterated, food from an unapproved source, parasite destruction procedures not followed, missing shell stock records, toxic chemicals improperly stored, and unclean food contact surfaces.
Brisa de Espana at 8726 NW 26 St. drew the same total: 9 high-severity violations. Inspectors cited the restaurant for employees not reporting illness symptoms, inadequate handwashing facilities, improper handwashing technique, food from an unapproved source, parasite destruction procedures not followed, unclean food contact surfaces, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and toxic chemicals improperly stored.
Rio Grande Churrascaria at 11995 SW 26 St. drew 5 high-severity violations, among them food from an unapproved or unknown source, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, and an employee illness reporting failure, alongside improper sewage or wastewater disposal and multi-use utensils not properly cleaned among its intermediate citations.
Whisk Gourmet Food and Catering at 7382 SW 56 Ave. drew 6 high-severity violations. No person in charge was present or performing duties. Inspectors also cited inadequate handwashing facilities, no employee health policy, toxic chemicals improperly stored, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and unclean food contact surfaces, along with improper sewage disposal among its intermediate violations.
Casa Nane at 1130 SW 2 Ave. and Dunkin Donuts #20 at 9545 NE 2 Ave. each drew 8 high-severity violations. Casa Nane's list included food not cooked to required minimum temperature, time as a public health control not properly used, toxic chemicals improperly stored, and no consumer advisory. Dunkin Donuts #20 was cited for no allergen awareness demonstrated, toxic substances improperly stored, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, and missing shell stock identification records, among others.
China Lee Restaurant at 559 SW 8th St. drew 6 high-severity violations including toxic chemicals improperly stored, no allergen awareness demonstrated, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
Las Tejas Restaurant at 11865 SW 26 St. drew 3 high-severity violations including no employee health policy, unclean food contact surfaces, and required procedures for specialized processes not followed, the last of which applies to operations like smoking, curing, or reduced-oxygen packaging that require precise controls to prevent pathogen growth.
Manta Restaurant at 102 NW 25th St. drew 2 high-severity violations, no employee health policy and unclean food contact surfaces, alongside improper sewage disposal as an intermediate citation.
El Meson del Paraiso Restaurant at 12820 SW 120 St. and Me Kong Chinese Restaurant at 18073 S Dixie Hwy each drew 5 or fewer high-severity violations. El Meson was cited for inadequate handwashing and toxic substances improperly identified or stored. Me Kong drew citations for inadequate handwashing, improper handwashing technique, unclean food contact surfaces, no consumer advisory, and toxic chemicals improperly stored, along with single-use items being improperly reused.
What These Violations Mean
The most pervasive violation across this week's inspections was improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, cited at twelve of the fifteen facilities. Cutting boards, prep surfaces, and equipment that are not properly sanitized become transfer points for bacteria between raw and ready-to-eat foods. A surface contaminated with Salmonella from raw poultry that is then used to slice vegetables does not require any additional failure to make someone sick.
The food from unapproved or unknown source citation at Rio Grande Churrascaria, Dunkin Donuts 07, Burger King 5, Don Criollito, and Brisa de Espana carries a specific consequence beyond the violation itself: if a customer becomes ill, investigators cannot trace the food back through the supply chain. USDA and FDA inspections exist to catch Listeria, Salmonella, and E. coli before product reaches a kitchen. Food that bypasses that system arrives without any of those checks.
The parasite destruction violations at Dunkin Donuts 07, Burger King 5, Don Criollito, and Brisa de Espana are particularly significant at facilities serving fish. Parasites including Anisakis survive in raw or undercooked fish unless the fish has been commercially frozen to specific temperatures for specific time periods. Without documentation that this process occurred, there is no way to verify the fish on a plate is parasite-free.
The combination of no employee health policy and no illness reporting, documented together at Totoritas, China Buffet, Casa Nane, and Brisa de Espana, creates a specific transmission risk. Norovirus, the leading cause of foodborne illness outbreaks in restaurant settings, can be shed by a worker before symptoms are severe enough for them to recognize they are sick. A written health policy and a reporting requirement are the mechanism that removes that worker from food handling before contamination occurs.
The Longer Record
Me Kong Chinese Restaurant on S Dixie Hwy has the longest inspection history of any facility in this week's data, with 35 prior inspections on record, and still drew 5 high-severity violations including handwashing failures and improperly stored toxic chemicals. Thirty-five inspections represent years of regulatory contact. Violations in the same fundamental categories, hand hygiene and chemical storage, appearing after that volume of oversight is a pattern, not an anomaly.
Rio Grande Churrascaria and Totoritas each carry 34 prior inspections. Totoritas generated 11 high-severity violations this week despite that history. China Buffet has 32 prior inspections and drew 9 high-severity violations. Don Criollito has 29 prior inspections; Brisa de Espana, China Lee, and El Meson del Paraiso each have 28.
Casa Nane is the newest facility in this week's data by a significant margin, with only 7 prior inspections on record. It drew 8 high-severity violations, including toxic chemicals improperly stored, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, and no employee health policy. A facility that accumulates 8 high-severity citations within its first several inspections is not establishing a strong baseline.
Burger King 5 on NW 27th Ave. has 20 prior inspections on record. This week's citation for food from an unapproved or unknown source at a national franchise location, where supply chain documentation is a corporate standard, remains unexplained in the inspection record.
