MIAMI, FL. A state inspector walked into Pasapoga Restaurant LLC on SW 72nd Street on October 2, 2026, and found food not cooked to the minimum required temperature, a violation that allows live Salmonella and other pathogens to reach a customer's plate. That was one of nine high-severity violations documented in a single visit. The restaurant was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The undercooking citation was not the only finding that put customers directly at risk. Inspectors also documented improper handwashing by food employees, inadequate handwashing facilities, and improper hand and arm washing technique as three separate high-severity violations. That is not redundancy in the record. It means the inspector observed failures at every stage of the handwashing process, from the physical infrastructure to the execution.
Toxic chemicals were found improperly stored or labeled. When cleaning agents or sanitizers are stored near food or placed in unlabeled containers, the contamination route is direct and the outcome can be acute poisoning rather than a delayed illness.
The inspector also found that the restaurant had no written employee health policy and that employees were not reporting symptoms of illness. Food contact surfaces were not properly cleaned or sanitized. Multi-use utensils showed the same problem. And there was no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked foods, meaning customers with no way to make an informed choice about their own risk.
What These Violations Mean
The undercooking violation is the most immediate threat on this list. Salmonella in poultry survives below 165 degrees Fahrenheit. When food is pulled from heat before reaching that threshold, the bacteria remain viable and reach the customer intact. This is not a paperwork problem. It is a direct mechanism for foodborne illness.
The three handwashing violations compound each other in a specific way. Inadequate facilities means employees physically cannot wash their hands properly even if they try. Inadequate technique means that even when an attempt is made, pathogens remain on the hands. Inadequate handwashing behavior means the attempts are not being made consistently. All three were present at Pasapoga on October 2nd.
The absence of an employee health policy and the failure to report illness symptoms are what turn a single sick worker into a multi-victim outbreak. Norovirus spreads through exactly this pathway. A worker who does not know they are required to report symptoms, or works in a restaurant where no such policy exists, continues handling food. Customers have no way to know this is happening.
Improperly stored or mislabeled toxic chemicals present a different category of risk entirely. Unlike bacterial contamination, chemical poisoning from ingested cleaning agents can cause immediate and severe harm. The violation at Pasapoga was logged as high-severity for that reason.
The Longer Record
The October 2nd inspection was not an aberration. Pasapoga has 33 inspections on record and 542 total violations documented across that history. The restaurant has never been emergency-closed.
The pattern in the most recent inspections is consistent. On February 27, 2025, inspectors found 9 high-severity violations and 1 intermediate, the same count as October 2nd. On May 19, 2025, the tally was 9 high-severity and 5 intermediate. On August 18, 2025, it was 7 high-severity and 5 intermediate. On March 9, 2026, it was 6 high-severity and 3 intermediate.
That is five inspections in roughly 19 months where the high-severity violation count reached six or higher, including two visits where it hit nine. The same violation categories recur across multiple visits: handwashing failures, food contact surface sanitation, and illness reporting gaps appear in the record repeatedly.
The October 12th follow-up inspection, conducted ten days after the visit at issue, found 2 high-severity violations remaining. That is an improvement in the count. It is also the fifth time in the available record that a high-severity inspection at Pasapoga was followed by a lower-count follow-up, only for the numbers to climb again at the next routine visit.
Open for Business
State inspectors documented nine high-severity violations at Pasapoga Restaurant on October 2, 2026, including undercooking, toxic chemical storage failures, and a complete breakdown of handwashing practices at every level. The facility was not emergency-closed.
It remained open while customers continued to order food.
