DELRAY BEACH, FL. Food from an unapproved or unknown source was on the premises at Planet Juice on South Federal Highway when a state inspector walked in on September 3, 2026, a violation that means at least some of what the Delray Beach juice bar was serving that day bypassed any federal food safety inspection entirely.
That was one of seven high-severity violations documented during the visit. The facility was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The inspector's report also cited inadequate shell stock identification records. Planet Juice appears to carry shellfish, which are high-risk foods frequently consumed raw or lightly cooked. Without proper tags and receiving records tied to each batch, there is no way to trace a specific lot of oysters, clams, or mussels back to the harvest site if a customer becomes ill.
No consumer advisory was posted for raw or undercooked foods. That means customers who are elderly, pregnant, immunocompromised, or otherwise vulnerable had no notice that items on the menu carried an elevated risk.
Three of the seven high-severity violations centered on employee illness. The facility had no written health policy, at least one employee was not reporting symptoms of illness, and handwashing technique was cited as improper. Those three violations, taken together, describe a kitchen where a sick worker could handle food without any procedural barrier to transmission. No manager was present or performing oversight duties during the inspection.
The one intermediate violation, reuse of single-use items, adds another contamination pathway on top of the seven high-severity findings.
What These Violations Mean
Food from an unapproved source is not a paperwork problem. It means the facility obtained at least some ingredients outside the regulated supply chain, where USDA and FDA inspections verify that food is safe before it reaches a commercial kitchen. If a customer got sick from a contaminated ingredient purchased that way, investigators would have no supplier record to trace.
The shellfish traceability violation compounds that risk specifically. Shellfish harvested from contaminated waters and consumed raw or lightly cooked are a documented vehicle for Norovirus, Vibrio, and hepatitis A. The tag system exists precisely so that a sick customer's illness can be matched to a specific harvest lot and a recall can be issued. Without adequate records at Planet Juice, that chain breaks entirely.
The illness-reporting cluster, no health policy, an employee not self-reporting symptoms, and improper handwashing technique, describes the conditions that public health officials consistently identify as the primary driver of multi-victim outbreaks. Norovirus spreads through as few as 18 viral particles. A food worker who is symptomatic, has no policy telling them to stay home, and washes their hands incorrectly is a direct transmission route to every customer served that shift.
The absence of a person in charge performing active oversight connects all of it. CDC research shows establishments without active managerial control document critical violations at roughly three times the rate of those with engaged supervision. On September 3, no one filling that role was present.
The Longer Record
September's inspection was not an anomaly. State records show Planet Juice has been inspected nine times total, and the facility has accumulated 46 violations across that history. The only clean inspection on record was in August 2022.
Every inspection since then has included at least one high-severity violation. The February 2026 visit, seven months before this one, produced six high-severity violations. The August 2025 inspection produced four. The October 2024 inspection produced four. The pattern is not one of a facility that stumbles occasionally and corrects course.
Planet Juice: Inspection History, 2022-2026
The facility has never been emergency-closed. The September 3 inspection, the most violation-heavy in the facility's recorded history, produced no closure order.
Planet Juice was open for business when inspectors left.
