SOUTH DAYTONA, FL. State inspectors visiting Panda House Grill at 2021 S. Ridgewood Ave. on July 23 found food sourced from unapproved or unknown suppliers, a violation that means there is no way to trace what customers ate back through the supply chain if someone gets sick.
That was one of six high-severity violations documented that day. The restaurant was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The unapproved food source violation stood alongside a citation for toxic chemicals stored improperly near food, a combination that places customers at risk from two entirely separate directions in a single visit.
Inspectors also cited food contact surfaces that were not properly cleaned or sanitized, a failure that turns cutting boards, prep surfaces, and utensils into transfer points for bacteria from one food to the next. The citation for improper use of time as a public health control means food was held in the temperature danger zone, between 41 and 135 degrees, without the documentation required to show it was safe.
Employees were cited for improper hand and arm washing technique. That citation is distinct from not washing hands at all: it means a washing attempt was made but executed incorrectly, leaving pathogens on hands that then touched food.
The restaurant also lacked a consumer advisory for raw or undercooked menu items, leaving customers with no way to make an informed decision about their own risk.
What These Violations Mean
The food from unapproved sources citation is one of the most consequential a restaurant can receive. Food that enters a kitchen through channels outside the licensed supply chain has not been inspected by USDA or FDA. If a customer becomes ill, investigators have no paper trail to follow. Listeria and Salmonella are among the pathogens that can travel undetected through uninspected product.
The toxic chemicals violation compounds that risk. Chemicals stored near food or improperly labeled can contaminate a meal directly, and the resulting illness can be acute rather than gradual. Mislabeled containers create a second hazard: staff using the wrong chemical on a food contact surface, or using a cleaning product at the wrong concentration.
The equipment cited as in poor repair matters beyond inconvenience. Cracks, chips, and corroded surfaces in food prep equipment cannot be effectively sanitized. Bacteria accumulate in those spaces and transfer to every item that touches the surface afterward.
Single-use items reused in the same kitchen, combined with improperly used wiping cloths, means that contamination introduced at one station can travel to others. Wiping cloths that are not stored in sanitizer solution between uses pick up pathogens and redistribute them across surfaces that are supposed to be clean.
The Longer Record
The July 23 inspection was the 37th on record for Panda House Grill. Across those 37 inspections, the facility has accumulated 384 total violations. It has never been emergency-closed.
The pattern in the recent history is consistent. The January 9, 2026 inspection produced seven high-severity violations. The inspection before that, on January 15, 2026, produced four high-severity violations. Going back further: nine high-severity violations on January 10, 2025; ten high-severity violations on December 1, 2023. Every inspection on record for the past three years has included at least three high-severity citations.
The July 2026 inspection is not an outlier. It is the eighth consecutive inspection with a significant high-severity count, continuing a run that stretches back through 2023 without interruption.
The food from unapproved sources violation and the food contact surface sanitation failure both appeared in prior inspection cycles as well. These are not new problems surfacing for the first time.
Open for Business
Florida's emergency closure authority is triggered when an inspector determines that conditions pose an immediate threat to public health. Six high-severity violations at Panda House Grill on July 23, including uninspected food of unknown origin and toxic chemicals stored near food, did not meet that threshold.
The restaurant remained open after the inspection.
