HIALEAH, FL. Inspectors visiting Pacifico on West 29th Street on April 30 found a seafood restaurant serving shellfish with no identification records to trace where those shellfish came from, no consumer advisory warning customers about raw or undercooked food, and toxic chemicals stored improperly near food. The restaurant was not closed.

The April 30 inspection produced 9 high-severity violations and 4 intermediate violations. That total places it among the most troubled single-day inspections in Pacifico's documented history, which now spans 38 inspections and 497 total violations on record.

What Inspectors Found

1HIGHFood from unapproved or unknown sourceNo USDA/FDA traceability
2HIGHInadequate shell stock identification/recordsShellfish untraced
3HIGHToxic chemicals improperly stored or labeledNear food
4HIGHNo consumer advisory for raw/undercooked foodsNo customer warning
5HIGHFood contact surfaces not properly cleaned/sanitizedCross-contamination risk
6HIGHEmployee not reporting symptoms of illnessOutbreak risk
7HIGHNo employee health policyNo sick-worker protocol
8HIGHImproper hand and arm washing techniquePathogen transfer
9HIGHPerson in charge not present or performing dutiesManagement failure
10INTInadequate cooling/cold holding equipmentTemperature failure
11INTImproper use of wiping clothsContamination spread
12INTInadequate ventilation and lightingAir quality
13INTInadequate or improperly maintained toilet facilitiesHygiene infrastructure

The shellfish sourcing violations sit at the top of the concern list. Inspectors cited Pacifico for both food from an unapproved or unknown source and inadequate shell stock identification records. For a restaurant serving seafood, those two findings together mean there is no documented chain of custody for the oysters, clams, or mussels reaching customers' plates.

Inspectors also found toxic chemicals stored or labeled improperly near food. That violation, combined with food contact surfaces that were not properly cleaned or sanitized, creates a situation where contamination can reach a customer through more than one pathway.

The person in charge was not present or not performing duties. That finding alone is significant because it helps explain the rest of the list.

What These Violations Mean

Shellfish are among the highest-risk foods served in any restaurant because they are frequently eaten raw or lightly cooked. Without shell stock identification tags, there is no way to trace an outbreak back to a harvest site if customers get sick. The tags are not paperwork for its own sake; they are the only mechanism that allows public health officials to pull a contaminated lot before more people are exposed.

The consumer advisory violation compounds that risk directly. Customers who are elderly, pregnant, immunocompromised, or very young face elevated danger from raw shellfish. Without a posted advisory, those customers have no way to make an informed choice about what they order.

The cluster of illness-related violations, including no employee health policy, no system for employees to report symptoms, and improper handwashing technique, describes a kitchen where a sick worker has no formal obligation to stay home and no reliable barrier between their hands and the food. Norovirus, which causes roughly 20 million illnesses in the United States annually, spreads almost entirely through this route. Inadequate cold-holding equipment means food can drift into the temperature range where bacteria multiply rapidly, between 41 and 135 degrees Fahrenheit, without any mechanical check to catch it.

Improperly stored toxic chemicals near food represent a separate and acute hazard. Mislabeled or misplaced cleaning compounds have caused poisoning incidents in food service settings when they are mistaken for food-safe substances or when they contaminate surfaces that contact food directly.

The Longer Record

Pacifico Inspection History, Selected Visits

2026-04-309 high, 4 intermediate violations. Restaurant remained open.
2025-08-127 high, 4 intermediate violations.
2025-04-035 high, 3 intermediate violations.
2024-11-146 high, 2 intermediate violations.
2023-06-147 high, 2 intermediate violations.
2021-01-27Emergency closure for rodent activity. Reopened January 29.
2020-08-10Emergency closure for roach activity. Reopened August 11.
2018-08-15Emergency closure for rodent activity. Reopened August 16.

The April 30 inspection is not an outlier. Every single inspection on record in the prior two years produced high-severity violations. The August 2025 visit found 7 high-severity violations. The November 2024 visit found 6. The June 2023 visit found 7. The pattern does not show a restaurant that slips occasionally; it shows one that has sustained high-severity findings across every documented visit for at least three years.

Pacifico has been emergency-closed three times. Rodent activity forced a closure in January 2021 and again in August 2018. Roach activity forced a closure in August 2020. All three closures were resolved within two days, and all three were followed by the same accumulation of high-severity violations in subsequent inspections.

Across 38 inspections, the facility has accumulated 497 total violations on record. That averages to more than 13 violations per inspection visit over the course of its documented history.

The April 30 inspection produced 9 high-severity violations at a seafood restaurant with no traceable shellfish records, no consumer advisory, improperly stored chemicals, and no manager on duty. Pacifico remained open.