MIAMI BEACH, FL. A state inspector visiting Puerto Sagua on Collins Avenue on July 7 found the restaurant had no procedures in place to destroy parasites in fish, one of nine total violations that day, six of them high-severity. The restaurant was not closed.
Parasite destruction requires fish to be frozen at specific temperatures for specific durations before serving, or cooked to temperatures that kill organisms like Anisakis and tapeworm. Without those steps documented and followed, customers eating raw or undercooked fish have no assurance the kitchen did anything to reduce that risk.
What Inspectors Found
Inspectors also found toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used. Chemical contamination from improperly handled cleaning agents or pesticides can reach food directly, and it does not require a large dose to cause illness.
Food contact surfaces, the cutting boards, prep tables, and utensils that touch food directly, were not properly cleaned or sanitized. That finding appeared alongside a separate citation for improper sanitizing solution or procedures, meaning even the cleaning step that was attempted may not have been effective.
The restaurant had no employee health policy. Without a written policy, there is no formal mechanism to keep sick workers off the food line. Inspectors also cited employees for improper handwashing technique, meaning that even when workers did wash their hands, the method left pathogens behind.
Customers ordering raw or undercooked items were given no consumer advisory. That omission matters most for elderly diners, pregnant women, and anyone with a compromised immune system, the people most likely to face serious consequences from a foodborne illness.
What These Violations Mean
The parasite destruction citation is not a paperwork problem. Fish served raw or undercooked at a restaurant that cannot demonstrate proper freezing or cooking protocols may carry live Anisakis larvae or tapeworm. Infection from Anisakis causes severe abdominal pain, vomiting, and in some cases requires surgical removal of larvae from the intestinal wall. The risk is real and the citation at Puerto Sagua means there was no documented system to prevent it.
The toxic substance violation compounds that concern. Improperly stored chemicals near food prep areas can contaminate food without any visible sign. A customer would have no way to know.
The handwashing citation deserves particular attention. Norovirus, the most common cause of foodborne illness outbreaks in restaurant settings, spreads almost entirely through the fecal-oral route, meaning contaminated hands touching food. An employee who attempts to wash hands but uses improper technique can transfer the virus just as effectively as one who skips washing entirely. Puerto Sagua had this violation on July 7 and also had no health policy requiring sick employees to stay home.
Taken together, the July 7 inspection documented a kitchen where fish parasite risks were unaddressed, surfaces may not have been truly sanitized despite cleaning attempts, sick workers had no formal policy directing them to stay home, and customers who ordered raw items were not warned.
The Longer Record
Puerto Sagua has 32 inspections on record and 416 total violations. That is not a facility caught in a bad week.
The inspection immediately before July 7, conducted June 17, found three high-severity and four intermediate violations. The October 2025 records are worse: inspectors visited twice on the same day, finding seven high-severity and four intermediate violations in one visit, and five high-severity and two intermediate in the second. March 2025 produced eight high-severity violations in a single inspection, the highest single-day count in the recent record.
The pattern across those inspections is consistent. High-severity violations have appeared at Puerto Sagua in every inspection going back through the data, with the exception of three consecutive visits in June 2024 that each logged only one high-severity finding. That stretch did not hold.
The facility has never been emergency-closed. Despite six high-severity violations on July 7, and a history of 416 documented violations across 32 inspections, the restaurant at 700 Collins Avenue was open for business when the inspector left.
