LAKELAND, FL. State inspectors walked into Pho Tan on South Combee Road on September 22 and found food sourced from an unapproved or unknown supplier, toxic chemicals stored improperly near food, no manager present or performing duties, and employees washing their hands with inadequate technique at inadequate facilities. The inspection produced 7 high-severity violations and 3 intermediate violations. The restaurant was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The food sourcing violation is among the most serious the state can document. When a restaurant obtains food from an unapproved or unknown supplier, inspectors have no way to trace that food back through the supply chain if a customer becomes ill. It falls outside USDA and FDA inspection systems entirely.
The toxic chemicals citation compounds that concern. Chemicals stored improperly near food create a direct contamination path, whether through mislabeled containers, proximity to prep surfaces, or spills. At Pho Tan, that violation sat alongside citations for food contact surfaces that were not properly cleaned or sanitized and for multi-use utensils that were not properly cleaned, meaning contamination pathways existed at multiple points in the kitchen.
The handwashing picture was equally troubling. Inspectors cited both the physical infrastructure, the facilities themselves were inadequate, and the technique employees used when attempting to wash their hands. Both violations were flagged as high severity. No person in charge was present or performing duties during the inspection.
What These Violations Mean
The food-from-unapproved-sources violation matters most in hindsight. If a customer becomes ill after eating at Pho Tan, public health investigators need a paper trail: where the food came from, what lot it was part of, whether other restaurants received the same shipment. Food from an unknown source has no such trail. Listeria, Salmonella, and E. coli outbreaks have been traced and contained because of supplier records. Without them, that work cannot be done.
The handwashing violations operate differently but are just as direct. Improper technique leaves pathogens on hands even when a worker makes an attempt to wash. Inadequate facilities make a proper attempt harder to complete. Together, they create a condition where contamination moves from hands to food to customers with no reliable barrier in place.
The consumer advisory violation is specific to Pho Tan's menu. Pho is frequently served with raw or rare beef that cooks in the broth at the table. Without a written advisory on the menu, customers who are elderly, pregnant, immunocompromised, or very young have no notice that what they are eating carries a higher risk. That population cannot make an informed choice about their own exposure.
Improperly sanitized food contact surfaces and the reuse of single-use items extend the contamination risk across the kitchen. Bacterial biofilms develop on improperly cleaned surfaces within 24 hours and resist standard cleaning once established. Single-use items, designed to eliminate cross-contact between uses, lose that protection entirely when reused.
The Longer Record
The September 22 inspection was not an isolated event. State records show Pho Tan has been inspected 37 times and has accumulated 163 total violations over its inspection history. The restaurant has never been emergency-closed.
The two most recent prior inspections, in August and March of 2026, each produced one high-severity and one intermediate violation. That looks routine against the backdrop of the September findings. But go back further: in October 2024, inspectors documented 4 high-severity violations. In November 2023, they found 3 high-severity and 2 intermediate violations. In October 2025, 2 high and 1 intermediate.
The pattern is one of recurring high-severity citations with no sustained period of clean inspections long enough to suggest systemic correction. The December 2025 inspection produced zero violations at any level, as did the February 2025 visit. Those clean inspections sit between clusters of serious findings rather than marking a turning point.
Seven high-severity violations in a single inspection is the worst single-visit total in the available record for this location. It came six weeks after an inspection that found only one high-severity violation.
Still Open
Florida law gives inspectors the authority to order an emergency closure when conditions pose an immediate threat to public health. On September 22, inspectors documented unapproved food sources, improperly stored toxic chemicals, inadequate handwashing infrastructure, improper handwashing technique, unsanitized food contact surfaces, no manager on duty, and no consumer advisory for raw proteins.
Pho Tan was not closed.
