OCALA, FL. State inspectors visiting Moody's Brewing Inc. on SW College Road in August found that the brewery had no procedures in place to ensure parasites in fish were being destroyed before reaching customers, one of six high-severity violations documented during the August 17 inspection.
The facility was not emergency-closed.
What Inspectors Found
The parasite destruction citation means the brewery was not following required freezing or cooking protocols for fish served to customers. Those protocols exist to kill parasites including Anisakis and tapeworm, organisms that survive in raw or undercooked fish and cause serious illness in people who consume them.
Inspectors also found food in poor condition, mislabeled, or adulterated on the premises. The specific items were not detailed in the inspection summary, but the violation category covers spoiled product, contaminated food, and items without accurate labeling, any of which can cause foodborne illness if served.
The brewery had no written employee health policy, meaning there was no documented system requiring sick workers to report symptoms or stay away from food handling. Inspectors also cited improper hand and arm washing technique, a separate and compounding problem: even workers who attempted to wash their hands were not doing so in a way that removes pathogens effectively.
Food contact surfaces were not properly cleaned or sanitized. Multi-use utensils had the same problem. Both violations were cited on the same inspection day, meaning the surfaces customers' food touched and the tools used to prepare it were carrying contamination risk simultaneously.
The brewery also had no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked menu items. That notice is the only mechanism by which customers, particularly pregnant women, elderly diners, and people with compromised immune systems, know they are ordering something that carries elevated risk.
One of the two intermediate violations involved sewage or wastewater disposal. The inspection record does not specify the exact nature of the problem, but the violation category covers conditions that can introduce fecal contamination into a food preparation environment.
What These Violations Mean
The parasite destruction failure is the most direct physical danger in this inspection record. Parasites like Anisakis survive in fish tissue and are only neutralized by sustained freezing at specific temperatures or by thorough cooking. A brewery serving fish dishes without following those protocols is serving food that can cause anisakiasis, a condition that produces severe abdominal pain, vomiting, and in some cases requires surgical removal of larvae from the stomach lining.
The absence of an employee health policy compounds nearly every other violation on this list. Norovirus, one of the most common causes of foodborne illness outbreaks in the United States, spreads primarily through infected food workers who continue handling food while symptomatic. Without a written policy requiring workers to report illness, there is no documented standard holding anyone accountable for staying off the line when sick.
Improperly cleaned food contact surfaces and multi-use utensils do not just carry residual food debris. Within 24 hours, bacterial biofilms form on inadequately sanitized surfaces, and those biofilms protect bacteria from standard cleaning agents during subsequent washes. The problem compounds over time rather than resetting between service periods.
The sewage disposal violation is the one that can contaminate an entire facility. Raw sewage contains E. coli, Hepatitis A, and Norovirus. An improper disposal condition in a food service environment means those pathogens have a potential pathway into food prep areas, onto surfaces, and onto workers' hands.
The Longer Record
Moody's Brewing has only two inspections on record with the state. The facility's first documented inspection, on March 6, 2026, produced two high-severity violations and one intermediate violation. The August inspection produced six high-severity violations and two intermediate violations.
That is a significant escalation across just two inspections. The March visit already flagged high-severity problems. Five months later, the number of high-severity citations tripled.
Across both inspections, the facility has accumulated 15 total violations and zero emergency closures. The brewery is relatively new to the state inspection record, which means there is no long baseline of clean inspections preceding these findings. Both inspections on record have included high-severity violations.
No prior emergency closures appear in the facility's history. That status did not change after the August inspection, despite the six high-severity citations.
Still Open
State inspectors documented parasite destruction failures, no employee health policy, improperly sanitized food contact surfaces, an improper sewage condition, and food in poor or mislabeled condition, all in a single visit to Moody's Brewing on August 17.
The brewery remained open.
