ISLAMORADA, FL. Back in May 2025, a state inspector visiting Raw Charli'S, a mobile food vendor operating in Islamorada, found that the establishment had no sanitizer test strips available to verify whether its sanitizing solution was actually working at a safe concentration.
The inspector documented the finding plainly: "No sanitizer test strips are available at the food establishment to accurately measure the concentration of the sanitizing solution being used." The operator provided test strips before the inspector left, but none had been on hand during the inspection itself.
The May 21 inspection also turned up a repeat violation, one inspectors had flagged before.
What Inspectors Found
UNRESOLVED AT INSPECTION
CORRECTED DURING VISIT
The two violations documented that day were both classified as priority foundation, a tier below the most serious priority violations but above basic housekeeping concerns. Neither was corrected on site in the sense that the vendor already had compliant systems in place. Both were resolved only after the inspector intervened directly.
The repeat violation is the more notable of the two. Inspectors noted that Raw Charli'S "does not have written procedures for employees to follow when responding to a vomiting or diarrhea event." A copy of guidance for written procedures was provided at the inspection. This was not the first time that gap was documented.
What These Violations Mean
The requirement for written cleanup procedures for vomiting and diarrhea events is not bureaucratic paperwork. Norovirus, one of the most common causes of foodborne illness outbreaks in the United States, spreads rapidly through contaminated surfaces and can survive on food-contact equipment if not neutralized with the correct sanitizing agent at the correct concentration.
Written procedures exist so that employees, in the moment, know exactly how to contain the contamination, what protective equipment to use, and what sanitizer strength to apply. Without a written protocol, the response is improvised, and improvised responses frequently miss steps that matter.
The sanitizer test strip violation connects directly to that same risk. A sanitizing solution that is too weak does not kill pathogens. A solution that is too strong can itself be a food safety hazard. Test strips are the only reliable way for a food handler to confirm, in real time, that the concentration is within the safe and effective range. At Raw Charli'S in May 2025, no such verification was possible.
Together, these two violations describe a mobile vendor without the basic tools to confirm its sanitizing is effective and without written guidance for its employees if a contamination event occurs on site.
The Pattern
The May 2025 inspection was not an isolated event in the vendor's regulatory history. State records show Raw Charli'S has accumulated 481 total violations across 39 inspections on record, an average of more than 12 violations per inspection over the life of the file.
The facility has also been subject to one emergency closure.
The only prior FDACS inspection in the available records, a focused inspection conducted July 11, 2022, found zero violations. That single clean visit stands against a cumulative record that, across all inspections, reflects persistent compliance challenges.
The repeat designation on the vomiting and diarrhea procedures violation is particularly significant in that context. A repeat citation means inspectors found the same deficiency on a prior visit, documented it, and returned to find it still unaddressed. For a mobile vendor with a 39-inspection history, a repeat violation in a category tied directly to outbreak prevention is not a minor administrative oversight.
The Longer Record
Thirty-nine inspections is a substantial history for any food establishment, and especially for a mobile vendor operating in Monroe County. The cumulative violation count of 481 across that span places Raw Charli'S among the more heavily cited operations in any inspection file of that length.
Emergency closures in Florida require an inspector to determine that an immediate threat to public health exists. The single closure on record for Raw Charli'S is a fact the inspection history carries forward, regardless of when it occurred.
The May 21, 2025 inspection ended with a finding of "Met Sanitation Inspection Requirements," meaning the vendor was not closed or ordered to stop sales. Both violations were addressed during the visit, one when the inspector provided written guidance and one when the operator produced test strips. Zero violations were corrected on site before the inspector raised them.
The written procedures for responding to a vomiting or diarrhea event, a requirement that had been flagged before, had still not been put in place by the time of this inspection.
