OCALA, FL. State inspectors found food at Mojo Grill and Catering Co. on East Silver Springs Boulevard sourced from unapproved or unknown suppliers during a September 28 inspection, a violation that means there is no way to trace what customers were eating back to any federally inspected facility if someone got sick.
That was one of eight high-severity violations documented at the 4620 E. Silver Springs Blvd. restaurant that day. The facility was not emergency-closed.
What Inspectors Found
The unapproved food source violation is among the most serious an inspector can document. Food that bypasses USDA and FDA inspection carries no guarantee it was processed, handled, or stored safely before it reached the kitchen, and there is no supply chain record to consult if a customer later reports illness.
Inspectors also cited the restaurant for failing to cook food to required minimum temperatures. For poultry, that threshold is 165 degrees Fahrenheit, the point at which Salmonella is destroyed. Food served below that temperature can carry live pathogens to a customer's plate.
Two separate chemical violations appeared on the same inspection report. Toxic chemicals were cited as improperly stored or labeled, and toxic substances were cited as improperly identified, stored, or used. Together, those two citations mean chemicals capable of causing acute poisoning were present in conditions where contamination of food or food-contact surfaces was a realistic outcome.
Inspectors also documented improper handwashing technique, meaning employees were making handwashing attempts that still left pathogens on their hands. Food contact surfaces were not properly cleaned or sanitized, creating a direct transfer route between contaminated surfaces and every dish prepared on them.
The restaurant had no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked foods, leaving elderly diners, pregnant women, and anyone with a compromised immune system without the warning the state requires. Inspectors also noted that time was not being properly used as a public health control, meaning food was sitting in the temperature danger zone, between 41 and 135 degrees, without adequate tracking.
What These Violations Mean
The combination of unapproved food sourcing and undercooking is particularly acute. When food arrives from an unknown supplier and is then served below the minimum safe temperature, there is no point in the process where pathogens are reliably eliminated. A customer eating poultry that was neither inspected at the source nor cooked to 165 degrees has no safety net between them and whatever the bird was carrying.
The two chemical violations compound the picture. Improperly labeled or stored chemicals near food preparation areas create a contamination risk that is separate from, and in addition to, the biological risks. Mislabeled chemicals have caused poisoning incidents when staff mistake them for food-safe substances.
Improper handwashing technique is distinct from not washing hands at all, and in some ways harder to correct. An employee who believes they have washed their hands correctly, but has not, will not self-correct. Every surface and ingredient they touch after that point carries whatever was on their hands.
The missing consumer advisory for raw or undercooked items means that customers who are most at risk, those whose immune systems cannot fight off a Salmonella or E. coli infection as easily as a healthy adult, had no way of knowing they needed to be cautious about specific menu items.
The Longer Record
The September 28 inspection was not an anomaly. State records show Mojo Grill has been inspected 27 times and has accumulated 162 total violations across its history.
The pattern of high-severity citations runs consistently through the recent record. The October 2025 inspection produced 8 high-severity and 3 intermediate violations. The April 2024 inspection produced 7 high-severity violations. The December 2022 inspection, the April 2025 inspection, and the December 2025 inspection each produced 5 high-severity violations.
In no year covered by the available record did the restaurant go through an inspection cycle without at least one high-severity citation. The restaurant has never been emergency-closed.
The September 2026 inspection ties the single-visit high-severity count from October 2025. That means the two most recent fall inspections have each produced 8 high-severity violations, with no emergency closure following either one.
Open for Business
After an inspector documented unapproved food sources, undercooking, unsanitized food contact surfaces, improper handwashing, two separate chemical hazards, missing consumer warnings, and time-temperature control failures, Mojo Grill and Catering Co. on East Silver Springs Boulevard remained open.
That is where the record stands.
