TAMPA, FL. Back in February 2026, a state inspector walked into a Tampa Planet Smoothie and watched an employee finish a cash register transaction, then move directly to handling food without stopping to wash their hands.
That observation, recorded by a Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services inspector during a February 24 visit, was among the most serious findings in an inspection that turned up 10 total violations, including one priority violation and one repeat citation. The inspector noted the employee washed their hands only after being instructed to do so.
What Inspectors Found
The repeat citation involved handwashing supplies. The inspector found no soap at the handwashing sink in the food service area and no paper towels at the handwashing sink in the warewashing area. Both were provided during the inspection after the inspector flagged the problem.
The same handwashing sink in the food service area was also blocked by a bucket, making it inaccessible to employees. The inspector noted it was cleared during the visit.
A food employee was observed wearing decorative rings on their fingers during food preparation, and another employee was working without a hair restraint. Neither of those violations was noted as corrected on site.
The inspector also found blenders stored on a rack directly adjacent to the handwashing sink, positioned underneath the paper towel dispenser, where they were exposed to splash. That is a storage problem specific to a smoothie operation, where blending equipment comes into direct contact with every drink served.
Old spills were documented on the doors of reach-in coolers and on the large cooler and freezer, in both the food service area and the warewashing area. Old spills on floors under and behind equipment and shelving were also noted. The sprayer nozzle of the three-compartment sink was found soiled. A wet mop in the warewashing area had not been hung to dry.
What These Violations Mean
The priority violation, an employee moving from cash handling to food preparation without washing hands, is one of the most direct contamination risks in any food service setting. Currency and touchscreens carry bacteria and pathogens that transfer easily to food contact surfaces. At a smoothie counter, where employees handle fruit, pour drinks, and operate shared blending equipment, that transfer goes directly into what a customer consumes.
The repeat violation involving no soap at the handwashing sink compounds that risk. A sink with no soap is functionally unavailable for proper hand-washing, regardless of whether water runs. Inspectors had cited Planet Smoothie for the same handwashing supply failure at this location before, which means the condition reappeared between inspections rather than being maintained.
The blocked handwashing sink adds another layer. When the only handwashing sink in a food service area is obstructed by a bucket, employees cannot wash their hands without first moving equipment, which reduces the likelihood they will do so. All three of these violations, the skipped hand-wash, the missing soap, the blocked sink, point to the same breakdown in basic hygiene practice.
The blender storage finding matters specifically because of how Planet Smoothie operates. Equipment stored under a paper towel dispenser and adjacent to a handwashing sink gets wet. Wet surfaces on blending equipment that touches every drink are a contamination pathway that customers have no way to see or avoid.
The Longer Record
Planet Smoothie Tampa: Inspection History
FDACS records on file for this location show two inspections. The December 2023 visit found four violations and the location met inspection requirements. The February 2026 inspection found 10 violations, more than double the prior count.
The repeat citation for handwashing supplies connects those two inspections directly. Whatever corrective action followed the 2023 visit, the soap and paper towel problem returned by February 2026. That gap in the record, two inspections over roughly 26 months, makes it difficult to know how long the conditions documented in February had been present.
None of the 10 violations cited in February were marked as corrected on site by the inspector's own notation. The inspector recorded that soap and paper towels were provided, the blocked sink was cleared, and the employee washed hands when instructed, but the form shows zero violations corrected on site in the official tally. The decorative rings and the missing hair restraint had no correction noted at all.