FORT MYERS, FL. A state inspector walked into Mikuu Ramen at 8001 Dani Drive on July 27 and documented that the restaurant was not following parasite destruction procedures for fish, a failure that means customers could have eaten ramen containing live Anisakis worms or tapeworm larvae with no intervention standing between the fish and the bowl.
That was one of eight high-severity violations cited that day. The restaurant was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The shellfish violation compounds the parasite finding. Inspectors cited the restaurant for inadequate shell stock identification records, meaning there was no documentation showing where oysters, clams, or mussels came from. If a customer got sick from shellfish, there would be no paper trail to trace the source.
Inspectors also found that food contact surfaces were not properly cleaned or sanitized. Cutting boards, prep surfaces, and equipment that touch food directly are among the most reliable transfer points for bacteria when cleaning fails.
Toxic substances were improperly identified, stored, or used. That violation sits in a kitchen where food is being prepared and plated for customers.
The five intermediate violations included improper sewage or wastewater disposal, multi-use utensils not properly cleaned, single-use items being reused, inadequate ventilation and lighting, and inadequate or improperly maintained toilet facilities. The sewage finding is not a paperwork problem. Improper wastewater disposal in a food facility creates the conditions for fecal contamination to reach food preparation areas.
What These Violations Mean
The parasite destruction violation is the one that most directly threatened customers who ate fish dishes that day. Florida requires that fish served raw or undercooked be frozen to specific temperatures for specific durations to kill parasites including Anisakis, a roundworm found in marine fish that can burrow into the stomach lining and cause severe pain, vomiting, and in some cases require surgical removal. When a restaurant skips that step, the fish goes from supplier to bowl with no kill step in between.
The employee illness violations, taken together, describe a facility with no systematic barrier against a sick worker infecting customers. There was no written health policy, and employees were not reporting illness symptoms. Norovirus spreads through just a few viral particles and can move from one sick food handler to dozens of customers within a single service period.
The handwashing technique violation matters even when a worker is not visibly ill. Improper technique, such as a rinse without soap or a wash that skips the fingertips, leaves pathogens on hands that then transfer to every surface and every plate touched afterward. Combined with improperly sanitized food contact surfaces, the contamination pathways multiply.
The shellfish traceability failure is specifically dangerous because shellfish are filter feeders that concentrate bacteria and viruses from the water they grow in. Without sourcing records, there is no way to know whether the shellfish came from a certified, tested harvest area. If an illness cluster emerged, investigators would have nowhere to start.
The Longer Record
The July 27 inspection was not an isolated bad day. State records show Mikuu Ramen has accumulated 193 violations across 20 inspections on record, a pace that works out to nearly 10 violations per inspection visit on average.
The two months before this inspection tell the sharper story. On October 1, 2025, inspectors cited the restaurant for 10 high-severity violations in a single visit. That was followed by another high-severity visit on October 2. December brought three inspections in three weeks: 9 high-severity violations on December 22, 7 on December 23, and 6 on January 9 of this year.
The categories repeat. High-severity violations have appeared across nearly every inspection in the record. The restaurant has never been emergency-closed despite this volume of serious citations over multiple years.
The day after the July 27 inspection, a follow-up visit on July 28 found 3 high-severity violations and 1 intermediate still present. Some violations from the prior day had been addressed. Others had not.
Still Open
Florida gives inspectors the authority to order an emergency closure when conditions pose an immediate threat to public health. Eight high-severity violations on July 27, including failed parasite procedures, no illness reporting system, improperly stored toxic substances, and sewage disposal problems, did not meet that threshold at Mikuu Ramen.
The restaurant served customers that day, and the day after, and the day after that.
