OXFORD, FL. State inspectors walked into Pho Saigon at 11717 N US Hwy 301 on May 18 and documented food that had not been cooked to required minimum temperatures, a finding that puts every customer who ordered that day at direct risk of consuming live pathogens.
The restaurant was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The May 18 inspection produced seven high-severity citations and five intermediate ones, a total of 12 violations in a single visit. The undercooking citation was not the only finding that put customers at immediate risk.
Inspectors also found that the restaurant had no employee health policy, written or otherwise. That means there was no formal system in place to keep sick workers out of the kitchen. Inspectors cited improper handwashing technique as a separate high-severity violation, meaning that even when employees attempted to wash their hands, the method used was inadequate to remove pathogens.
Food contact surfaces were not properly cleaned or sanitized, a finding that creates a direct transfer route for bacteria between raw and ready-to-eat food. Inspectors also cited the restaurant for failing to properly use time as a public health control, which is the alternative method restaurants use when they keep food in the temperature danger zone intentionally, under a strict time limit with documentation. No such documentation existed.
The shellfish citation stood out. Inspectors found inadequate shell stock identification records, meaning oysters, clams, or mussels on the premises could not be traced back to their source. There was also no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked foods, leaving customers with no notice that certain menu items carried elevated risk.
On the intermediate side, multi-use utensils were not properly cleaned, single-use items were being reused, wiping cloths were improperly used, ventilation and lighting were inadequate, and toilet facilities were not properly maintained.
What These Violations Mean
The undercooking violation is among the most direct paths to a foodborne illness outbreak. Salmonella in poultry survives below 165 degrees Fahrenheit. A customer who ate undercooked chicken or meat at Pho Saigon on May 18 had no way of knowing the food had not reached a safe internal temperature.
The absence of an employee health policy compounds that risk. Norovirus, one of the most common causes of foodborne illness in the United States, spreads rapidly when sick workers handle food without any formal policy requiring them to stay home or report symptoms. The improper handwashing citation makes this worse: a worker who attempts to wash their hands but uses inadequate technique still transfers pathogens to every surface and food item they touch afterward.
The shellfish traceability failure carries a different kind of danger. When someone gets sick from contaminated shellfish, public health investigators trace the illness back through harvest records to identify the source and pull product from other restaurants. Without those records at Pho Saigon, that chain of investigation breaks. If a customer became ill after eating shellfish here, there would be no paper trail.
The reuse of single-use items and the failure to properly clean multi-use utensils are not minor housekeeping issues. Improperly cleaned utensils develop bacterial biofilms within 24 hours, layers of bacteria that resist standard cleaning once established. Reused single-use items, designed to be discarded after one contact, carry contamination from one food or surface to the next.
The Longer Record
Pho Saigon Inspection History, Selected Visits
The May 2026 inspection is not an anomaly. State records show Pho Saigon has been inspected 18 times and has accumulated 119 total violations across that history, with zero emergency closures.
The pattern is consistent. In May 2023, inspectors found 11 high-severity violations in a single visit, the worst on record for this location. December 2023 produced five high-severity citations. December 2024 produced seven high-severity violations and two intermediate ones, a nearly identical profile to the May 2026 inspection. The restaurant passed cleanly only once in recent years, in February 2024.
High-severity violation counts at this location have never triggered a closure. The May 2026 inspection marks the third time in roughly 30 months that inspectors found seven or more high-severity violations here.
Still Open
The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation did not issue an emergency closure order following the May 18 inspection. Pho Saigon, which has accumulated 119 violations across 18 inspections and has never been emergency-closed, continued serving customers after inspectors left.
The seven high-severity violations, including undercooking, no illness policy, untracked shellfish, and unsanitized food contact surfaces, remained on the record as the restaurant stayed open.