MIAMI, FL. A state inspector visiting Pho Tastic at 16772 SW 88th Street on August 3 found food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, toxic substances improperly stored, and a restaurant operating with no written employee health policy — and left the facility open.
The August 3 inspection produced 10 high-severity violations and 3 intermediate violations. It was not the worst single inspection in the restaurant's recent history. But it arrived after 19 total inspections on record, 223 cumulative violations, and one prior emergency closure for roach activity in March 2025.
What Inspectors Found
The undercooking violation is among the most direct risks documented. Salmonella in poultry survives below 165 degrees Fahrenheit. In a pho kitchen where broth and proteins move through the line at volume, a failure to reach minimum temperatures is not a paperwork lapse.
Toxic substances were cited as improperly identified, stored, or used. That citation covers a range of scenarios, from unlabeled chemical containers stored above food prep surfaces to cleaning agents left accessible near ingredients. Any of those configurations creates a direct contamination pathway.
The inspector also cited a failure to follow parasite destruction procedures. Fish and pork served raw or lightly cooked require documented freezing protocols to kill organisms including Anisakis and Trichinella. Without those protocols, the destruction step is simply skipped.
Food contact surfaces were not properly cleaned or sanitized. Cutting boards, prep tables, and utensils that carry residue from one protein to the next are among the most common vehicles for bacterial transfer in commercial kitchens.
The intermediate violations added to the picture. Improper sewage or wastewater disposal was cited, along with inadequate cooling and cold holding equipment, and improper use of wiping cloths.
What These Violations Mean
The cluster of illness-related violations, no health policy, no symptom reporting, and no person in charge, describes a kitchen where a sick employee has no formal obligation to disclose symptoms and no manager actively enforcing the rules. CDC data links establishments without active managerial control to three times the rate of critical violations. Norovirus, which causes roughly 20 million illnesses in the United States annually, spreads through exactly this gap.
The shellfish traceability violation compounds the risk. Without proper identification records for oysters, clams, or mussels, there is no chain of custody if a customer gets sick. Health investigators cannot trace contaminated product back to a harvest site or supplier. The record simply does not exist.
The consumer advisory violation is a separate but related failure. Customers who are elderly, pregnant, immunocompromised, or caring for young children have a right to know when a menu item is served raw or undercooked. Without a posted advisory, they are making choices without the information the state requires them to have.
Improper handwashing technique is easy to dismiss as minor. It is not. Studies show that flawed technique, insufficient time, skipped steps, leaves pathogens on hands even when an employee believes they have washed. In a kitchen already missing a health policy and an active manager, handwashing is one of the last lines of defense.
The Longer Record
Pho Tastic: Recent Inspection History
The August 3 inspection is not an outlier. It is the continuation of a documented pattern stretching back through 19 inspections and 223 total violations on record.
The restaurant was emergency-closed on March 13, 2025, for roach activity. The very next day, a reinspection found 8 high-severity and 4 intermediate violations. Six weeks later, on March 9, 2026, inspectors returned and found 6 high-severity violations. On July 9, 2026, less than a month before the August inspection, they found 9 high-severity violations. The July 10 reinspection showed improvement, dropping to 3 high-severity citations. Then August 3 arrived.
Eight of the last nine inspections on record produced at least 5 high-severity violations. The categories rotate slightly, but the illness-policy failures, temperature concerns, and food-handling violations recur across multiple visits.
The restaurant was not closed after the August 3 inspection.
