ORLANDO, FL. Walala Asian Noodles House on West Colonial Drive drew 10 high-severity violations in a single inspection during the week of June 18, the highest total among 15 Orlando restaurants cited for serious food safety failures that week.
The violations at Walala covered nearly every layer of food safety: no employee health policy, an employee not reporting illness symptoms, inadequate handwashing facilities, improper handwashing technique, food in poor condition, missing shellfish traceability records, unsanitary food contact surfaces, and food not cooked to required minimum temperatures. That is eight distinct categories of high-severity failure in one kitchen.
One restaurant did not stay open long enough for inspectors to finish the week. Meng's Kitchen at 2415 E Colonial Dr Ste D was emergency-closed on June 18, the first day of the inspection period, after inspectors documented active roach activity on the premises.
What Inspectors Found
Kabooki Sushi on East Colonial Drive matched Walala's tier with 9 high-severity violations, including food from an unapproved source, shellfish without proper identification records, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, food not cooked to minimum temperature, and both a person in charge absent and an employee not reporting illness symptoms.
Pollos del Rancho on South Goldenrod Road also logged 9 high-severity violations. Inspectors cited the restaurant for food from an unapproved source, parasite destruction procedures not followed, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, food in poor condition, and no person in charge present or performing duties.
Noods on Raleigh Street drew 8 high-severity violations, among them two separate chemical storage citations: toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled, and toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used. Inspectors also found food from an unapproved source and missing shellfish traceability records.
Papparella on Sand Lake Vista Drive collected 8 high-severity violations as well, including inadequate handwashing facilities, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, and the same dual chemical storage failures found at Noods.
Brewlando on Hoffner Avenue rounded out the eight-violation tier. Inspectors cited the brewery and kitchen for not properly using time as a public health control, food not cooked to minimum temperature, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and an absent person in charge.
Taco Rio Mexican Kitchen on South Semoran Boulevard drew 7 high-severity violations and the most intermediate violations of any facility this week, six. Among the high-severity findings: no allergen awareness demonstrated, no person in charge, and improper sewage or wastewater disposal.
Saffron Indian Cuisine on West Sandlake Road also had 7 high-severity violations, including improper sewage disposal, food not cooked to minimum temperature, and time as a public health control not properly used.
Chimi Spot on South Goldenrod Road was cited for parasite destruction procedures not followed alongside food not cooked to minimum temperature, improper time controls, and improper sewage disposal.
Hot Wings and Grill on Old Winter Garden Road drew 7 high-severity violations including no allergen awareness demonstrated, an employee not reporting illness symptoms, and single-use items being improperly reused.
Pho Huong Lan on East Colonial Drive logged 7 high-severity violations centered on handwashing: an employee not reporting symptoms, inadequate handwashing by food employees, and improper hand and arm washing technique, all cited in the same inspection.
Sizler Tandoori on International Drive was cited for food from an unapproved source, food in poor condition, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, food not cooked to minimum temperature, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, all 7 violations at the high-severity level with zero intermediate violations.
Indian Hut Orlando on Kirkman Road drew 5 high-severity violations, including food from an unapproved source and toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used, as well as a citation for required procedures for specialized processes not followed.
Licking Orlando at Millenia Plaza and Funny Bone on International Drive each drew 6 high-severity violations. Funny Bone's citations included food from an unapproved source, food not cooked to minimum temperature, and inadequate or improperly maintained toilet facilities.
What These Violations Mean
The most repeated high-severity violation this week, appearing at Walala Asian Noodles House, Pollos del Rancho, Kabooki Sushi, Noods, Brewlando, Taco Rio, Saffron, Chimi Spot, Hot Wings and Grill, Indian Hut, and Sizler Tandoori, was the absence of an adequate employee health policy. That citation is not a paperwork technicality. Without a written policy, kitchen workers have no formal instruction to stay home when they are sick, and Norovirus, which causes the majority of foodborne illness outbreaks in restaurants, spreads directly from an infected food handler to a customer through contaminated food.
At Kabooki Sushi, Walala, Noods, Pho Huong Lan, and Funny Bone, inspectors also cited inadequate shellfish traceability records. Shellfish, including oysters, clams, and mussels, are frequently consumed raw or only lightly cooked. When a customer gets sick, health investigators trace the source through the shellfish tags that must accompany every bag from harvest to table. Without those records, there is no way to identify a contaminated harvest lot or pull it from other kitchens before more people are exposed.
Food from unapproved sources, cited at Pollos del Rancho, Kabooki Sushi, Noods, Indian Hut, Sizler Tandoori, and Funny Bone, carries a similar traceability problem. USDA and FDA inspections at licensed suppliers are the mechanism that catches Listeria, Salmonella, and E. coli before food reaches a restaurant. When a kitchen sources food outside that system, there is no inspection record and no recall chain.
The sewage citations at Taco Rio, Saffron, and Chimi Spot represent an acute contamination risk of a different kind. Improper wastewater disposal can introduce fecal bacteria throughout a kitchen, reaching food, surfaces, and utensils. That violation in a food preparation environment is not a plumbing inconvenience.
The Longer Record
Sizler Tandoori on International Drive has 46 prior inspections on record, the most of any facility cited this week. This week's 7 high-severity violations, covering unapproved food sources, temperature failures, unsanitary surfaces, and missing consumer advisories, come after more inspections than nearly any other restaurant in this roundup has received.
Saffron Indian Cuisine has 42 prior inspections on record and drew 7 high-severity violations this week, including sewage disposal and temperature control failures. Indian Hut Orlando has 34 prior inspections on record and was cited this week for food from an unapproved source, a violation that requires a deliberate sourcing decision, not an oversight.
Hot Wings and Grill has 33 prior inspections, Licking Orlando has 32, and Chimi Spot has 31. All three drew 6 or 7 high-severity violations this week. Pho Huong Lan has 30 prior inspections and was cited for three separate handwashing failures in a single visit.
At the other end of the history spectrum, Pollos del Rancho and Brewlando each have only 2 prior inspections on record and both drew 9 and 8 high-severity violations respectively in what appear to be early inspections of relatively new operations. Papparella has 3 prior inspections and drew 8 high-severity violations.
Walala Asian Noodles House has 10 prior inspections on record. This week's visit produced 10 high-severity violations, including missing shellfish traceability records, a violation that requires the kitchen to be serving shellfish without the documentation that would allow investigators to trace an illness back to its source.