WINTER GARDEN, FL. Inspectors who walked into New China Panda on South Dillard Street on June 4 found a restaurant where no one on staff could demonstrate basic allergen awareness, where toxic chemicals were improperly stored or labeled near food, and where sewage or wastewater was not being properly disposed of. They cited six high-severity violations and three intermediate ones. Then they left the restaurant open.
What Inspectors Found
The allergen violation is the one that most directly put customers at risk without any warning. Food allergies affect 32 million Americans, and allergic reactions send roughly 30,000 people to emergency rooms each year. When no one in a kitchen can demonstrate they understand allergen risks, a customer with a peanut, shellfish, or soy allergy who asks a server or cook about their meal has no reliable answer.
The toxic chemical violation compounds that picture. Chemicals stored or labeled improperly near food create a direct contamination risk. A mislabeled container used by a line cook who reaches for what they believe is a food-safe product can cause acute poisoning. It is not a theoretical hazard.
The sewage and wastewater disposal citation, classified as intermediate, adds a layer that is difficult to ignore. Improper sewage disposal creates conditions for fecal contamination to spread through a facility. Combined with the finding that multi-use utensils were not properly cleaned, the June 4 inspection describes a kitchen where contamination had multiple potential entry points.
What These Violations Mean
The absence of an employee health policy is not a paperwork problem. Without a written policy, a worker who comes in sick with Norovirus has no documented reason to stay home or report symptoms to a manager. Norovirus causes roughly 20 million illnesses in the United States each year, and food workers are one of its primary transmission routes. A restaurant that cannot show inspectors a health policy is a restaurant that has not built any formal barrier against a sick cook handling food.
The improper handwashing technique violation makes that worse. Even when an employee attempts to wash their hands, doing it incorrectly leaves pathogens on the skin. Studies show that most people who believe they have washed their hands adequately have not removed enough contamination to make a meaningful difference. At New China Panda, inspectors found the technique itself was wrong, not just that handwashing was skipped.
The shellstock identification failure matters specifically to customers who order oysters, clams, or mussels. These are high-risk foods, often eaten raw or lightly cooked. When the tags that trace shellfish back to their harvest source are missing or inadequate, there is no way to identify where a contaminated batch came from if customers get sick. Traceability is not a formality. It is the mechanism that allows a foodborne illness outbreak to be stopped.
The consumer advisory violation ties directly to that shellstock finding. Customers who are elderly, pregnant, immunocompromised, or very young face elevated risk from raw and undercooked foods. A menu or verbal notice is the only tool they have to make an informed choice. Without it, they cannot.
The Longer Record
The June 4 inspection is not an anomaly. State records show New China Panda has been inspected 19 times and has accumulated 208 total violations. The restaurant has never been emergency-closed.
The pattern in those prior inspections is consistent. On October 27, 2025, inspectors cited seven high-severity and three intermediate violations. On June 13, 2024, they found ten high-severity violations in a single visit. On May 4, 2022, the count was nine high-severity violations. Every inspection on record going back to 2022 has included at least four high-severity citations.
That means for at least four years, every time a state inspector has walked through this restaurant, they have found violations serious enough to be classified at the highest risk tier. The June 4 inspection, with six high-severity violations, is not a new low. It sits in the middle of an established range.
Still Open
Emergency closure in Florida requires a finding of an imminent hazard to public health. The state's inspection records show New China Panda has never crossed that threshold across 19 inspections and 208 violations.
What the June 4 records describe is a restaurant where customers with food allergies could not get reliable information, where chemicals were improperly stored near food, where sewage was not being properly handled, and where the utensils used to prepare and serve food were not being adequately cleaned.
After documenting all of that, the inspector left. New China Panda on South Dillard Street remained open for business.