CLERMONT, FL. A state inspector visiting Pastelitos Marilu II on FL-50 on August 26 found that food was not being cooked to required minimum temperatures, a violation that allows pathogens like Salmonella in poultry to survive and reach a customer's plate.
That was one of nine high-severity violations documented that day. The restaurant was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The inspector's report lists violations that, taken together, describe a kitchen operating without basic food safety controls in place. No person in charge was present or performing supervisory duties. Employees were not reporting symptoms of illness. There was no written employee health policy.
Handwashing failures appeared twice in the same inspection. Employees were documented as washing inadequately, and separately, as using improper technique, meaning even the attempts being made were not sufficient to remove pathogens from their hands.
Food contact surfaces were not properly cleaned or sanitized. Time was not being used correctly as a public health control, meaning food sat in the temperature danger zone, between 41 and 135 degrees Fahrenheit, without a documented time limit being tracked or enforced. The facility also lacked a consumer advisory notifying customers that some items may be raw or undercooked.
Two intermediate violations rounded out the inspection: improper sewage or wastewater disposal, and inadequate ventilation and lighting.
What These Violations Mean
The cooking temperature violation is the most direct threat to anyone who ate at Pastelitos Marilu II that day. Salmonella survives in poultry that does not reach 165 degrees Fahrenheit internally. A customer has no way to know, looking at a finished pastelito or any other item, whether the filling inside reached a safe temperature during cooking.
The cluster of illness-related violations, no health policy, no symptom reporting, and no active manager on site, creates conditions where a sick employee can work an entire shift without anyone stopping them. Norovirus, which causes roughly 20 million illnesses in the United States each year, spreads through exactly this pathway: an infected food handler with no policy requiring them to stay home, and no supervisor present to notice or intervene.
Improper sewage disposal adds a separate and serious risk. Raw sewage carries fecal bacteria including E. coli and Hepatitis A. When wastewater is not disposed of correctly, that contamination can spread to food preparation surfaces, equipment, and hands.
The absence of a consumer advisory matters most to customers who are elderly, pregnant, immunocompromised, or caring for young children. These groups face the highest risk from raw or undercooked food, and without a posted advisory, they have no way to make an informed choice about what they are ordering.
The Longer Record
The August 26 inspection was not an outlier. State records show Pastelitos Marilu II has been inspected 25 times and has accumulated 158 total violations across its history.
The pattern of high-severity violations is consistent and recent. In January 2025, inspectors cited 8 high-severity and 5 intermediate violations. In March 2026, five months before this inspection, they found 7 high-severity and 3 intermediate violations. The August 26 visit, with 9 high-severity violations, is the worst single inspection in the records provided.
The facility has never been emergency-closed. Two inspections in early 2023, in February and April, produced zero violations at either the high or intermediate level. That means the kitchen is capable of meeting state standards. The record since then shows it has not done so consistently.
The Longer Pattern
Several of the violations cited on August 26 have appeared in prior inspections at this location. Handwashing failures, management absence, and food safety control breakdowns are not new findings here. They are recurring ones.
A follow-up inspection the very next day, August 27, found 1 high-severity and 1 intermediate violation remaining, a significant reduction. But the original nine high-severity violations, including undercooked food, no illness policy, and improper sewage disposal, were all present and documented on August 26 while the restaurant served customers.
Pastelitos Marilu II was open for business that day.
