MIAMI, FL. A state inspector walked into MOMI MARKET at 1036 S Miami Ave on June 16 and found food from unapproved or unknown sources, a violation that means some of what the market was selling had never passed through a USDA or FDA inspection checkpoint.
That was one of six high-severity violations documented that day. The market was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
Inspectors also cited inadequate shell stock identification records, meaning shellfish on the premises could not be traced to a licensed harvester or certified dealer. Shellfish are among the highest-risk foods in any market: oysters, clams, and mussels are often eaten raw or lightly cooked, and without a paper trail, there is no way to identify the source if a customer gets sick.
The parasite-destruction citation is equally direct. Fish, pork, and wild game require specific freezing or cooking protocols to kill parasites including Anisakis, tapeworm, and Trichinella. The inspection record shows those protocols were not being followed.
Toxic chemicals were found improperly stored or labeled. That violation sits on the same inspection report as the unapproved food source, the shellfish records failure, and the parasite procedures lapse.
Two intermediate violations rounded out the report: multi-use utensils not properly cleaned, and inadequate ventilation and lighting.
What These Violations Mean
The unapproved food source violation is not a paperwork problem. When food enters a market outside the regulated supply chain, it has bypassed the inspections designed to screen for Listeria, Salmonella, and other pathogens. If someone becomes ill, investigators have no supply chain to trace. The source is unknown by definition.
The shell stock identification failure compounds that risk specifically for shellfish. Oysters and clams harvested from contaminated waters are a known vector for norovirus and Vibrio bacteria. The tagging and record system exists precisely so that a single sick customer can be connected to a specific harvest lot and a specific body of water. Without those records, that chain breaks entirely.
Parasite destruction is a step, not a suggestion. Anisakis larvae in fish can cause severe gastrointestinal illness. Trichinella in pork can cause muscle pain, fever, and in serious cases, heart and breathing complications. The required freezing protocols exist because cooking alone is not always sufficient for every preparation. At MOMI MARKET, those protocols were not documented as being followed.
The chemical storage violation is the one that can cause the most immediate harm. A mislabeled or improperly stored cleaning agent near food can contaminate a product before anyone realizes it. Unlike a bacterial infection that takes hours to develop, chemical poisoning can be acute.
The Longer Record
The June 16 inspection was not an anomaly. State records show MOMI MARKET has been inspected 21 times and has accumulated 122 total violations. The facility has never been emergency-closed.
The pattern of high-severity violations runs consistently through the recent history. The January 2026 inspection found six high-severity violations. The March 2025 inspection found four high-severity violations. September 2024 produced seven high-severity violations. August 2023 found six. December 2022 found five.
Only one inspection in the past four years came back clean. A February 28, 2024 visit found zero high-severity and zero intermediate violations. Two days earlier, on February 26, 2024, inspectors had cited six high-severity violations.
That back-to-back contrast, six violations on one day and a clean bill two days later, is the kind of data point that raises questions about what changes between visits and what stays the same. The six high-severity violations that followed in August 2023, September 2024, January 2026, and now June 2026 suggest the answer.
Still Open
Florida's emergency closure authority is triggered when an inspector determines that continued operation poses an immediate threat to public health. The standard is not simply the number of high-severity violations but whether the inspector judges the threat to be immediate.
On June 16, with food from unapproved sources on the premises, shellfish without traceable harvest records, parasite-destruction protocols not being followed, and chemicals improperly stored near food, the inspector did not make that determination at MOMI MARKET.
The market remained open.