CLERMONT, FL. A state inspector visiting Michael's Ali Coal Fired Pizza at 790 W. Minneola Ave. on July 14 found that the restaurant was serving food from unapproved or unknown sources, a violation that means no one, including the restaurant itself, can trace where that food came from if a customer gets sick.
That was one of nine high-severity violations documented during the visit. The restaurant was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The parasite destruction violation stands out alongside the food sourcing citation. State rules require that fish and certain meats be frozen to specific temperatures for specific durations before being served raw or undercooked, precisely to kill parasites like Anisakis in fish and Trichinella in pork. The inspector found those procedures were not being followed.
The inspector also cited the restaurant for not cooking food to required minimum temperatures, a separate finding from the parasite violation. Together, those two citations describe a kitchen where raw and undercooked proteins were reaching customers without the safeguards designed to make that safe.
Food contact surfaces, including cutting boards and prep equipment, were not properly cleaned or sanitized. The inspector also found toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled near the food operation.
Handwashing failures compounded the picture. The inspector cited both inadequate handwashing facilities and improper handwashing technique, meaning the infrastructure for basic hygiene was broken and the practice itself was not being carried out correctly. Three intermediate violations rounded out the inspection: improper sewage or wastewater disposal, inadequate cooling and cold-holding equipment, and improper use of wiping cloths.
What These Violations Mean
The food-from-unapproved-sources violation is one of the most consequential a restaurant can receive, not because of what it proves happened, but because of what it makes impossible to determine. USDA and FDA inspection systems exist to catch contamination, Listeria, Salmonella, and other pathogens before food reaches a kitchen. When a restaurant sources food outside those systems, there is no paper trail. If a customer becomes ill, investigators cannot trace the food back to its origin.
The parasite destruction and undercooking violations are direct pathogen risks. Anisakis, a parasite found in raw fish, causes severe abdominal pain and can require surgical removal. Trichinella, found in undercooked pork, causes muscle pain, fever, and in serious cases, cardiac complications. These are not theoretical risks. They are the reason the state mandates specific freezing and cooking protocols.
The absence of a consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods compounds both of those violations. Pregnant women, elderly diners, and people with compromised immune systems face dramatically higher risks from undercooked proteins. Without a posted advisory, they have no way to make an informed choice.
Improperly stored chemicals near food create a separate and acute risk. Mislabeled or unsecured cleaning agents and pesticides can contaminate food directly, causing poisoning that can be mistaken for a foodborne illness and may not be traced back to the restaurant.
The Longer Record
July's inspection was not an outlier. The restaurant has accumulated 190 violations across 26 inspections on record, and the high-severity counts have been climbing.
The May 2026 inspection, just two months before this one, produced 12 high-severity violations and 4 intermediate ones, the worst single-visit total in the restaurant's recent history. November 2025 brought 7 high-severity violations. November 2024 brought 8. The pattern across the past two years is consistent: repeated high-severity citation totals in the range of 6 to 12, with no emergency closure ever issued.
The restaurant has never been emergency-closed in its inspection history on record. That is notable given that the May 2026 inspection alone, with 12 high-severity violations, exceeded what triggers closures at other Florida establishments.
The violations are not rotating through new categories. Food sourcing, temperature control, and hygiene infrastructure have appeared repeatedly across multiple inspection cycles. A facility cycling through the same high-severity categories year after year tells a different story than one with an isolated bad inspection.
Still Open
State inspectors documented nine high-severity violations at Michael's Ali Coal Fired Pizza on July 14, 2026, including food from sources that cannot be traced, parasites that were not destroyed, food that was not cooked to minimum temperature, and chemicals stored improperly near food.
The restaurant was not closed.
