ORLANDO, FL. When state inspectors visited Rawsha Restaurant on Turkey Lake Road on October 2, 2026, they documented food coming from unapproved or unknown sources, meaning the kitchen was working with ingredients that had bypassed federal safety inspection entirely.
That was one of eight high-severity violations cited that day. The restaurant was not emergency-closed.
What Inspectors Found
The unapproved food source violation means that some ingredient or ingredients in the kitchen on that day had no verifiable chain of custody through USDA or FDA inspection. If a customer got sick, there would be no supplier record to trace.
Parasite destruction was a separate, compounding problem. Inspectors cited the kitchen for failing to follow required procedures to kill parasites in foods that carry that risk, including fish and certain meats. Anisakis, a parasitic roundworm found in raw or undercooked seafood, causes severe abdominal pain and can require surgical removal. Trichinella, found in undercooked pork, causes fever, muscle pain and in severe cases cardiac or neurological damage. Neither parasite is visible to the naked eye.
Two separate handwashing violations were cited on the same visit. Inspectors found that food employees were not washing their hands adequately, and separately, that the technique used when handwashing did occur was insufficient to remove pathogens. Both violations on the same day indicate a systemic failure, not an isolated lapse.
Food contact surfaces were not properly cleaned or sanitized. Cutting boards, prep tables and other surfaces that touch food directly carry bacteria from one food to the next when they are not sanitized between uses.
Time as a public health control was not properly managed. When a restaurant uses time rather than temperature to keep food safe, it must follow a strict protocol that accounts for exactly how long food has been in the temperature danger zone between 41 and 135 degrees. That protocol was not being followed.
The kitchen was also serving raw or undercooked foods without the required consumer advisory posted on the menu. Pregnant women, elderly diners, young children and anyone with a compromised immune system are at sharply elevated risk from undercooked proteins and unpasteurized items, and the advisory is the mechanism that gives those customers the information they need to make that call.
Three intermediate violations added to the picture. Sewage or wastewater was not being disposed of properly, creating a fecal contamination pathway throughout the facility. Ventilation and lighting were inadequate. Toilet facilities were inadequate or improperly maintained.
What These Violations Mean
The food sourcing violation and the parasite destruction failure are linked in a way that matters. If a restaurant is sourcing fish or meat from an unknown supplier and also skipping the required freezing or cooking steps that kill parasites, there is no safety net at any stage of that food's journey to the plate. Federal inspection at the source and proper kill-step cooking at the restaurant are both supposed to catch what the other might miss. When both fail simultaneously, the customer has no protection.
The two handwashing violations together point to something deeper than a forgotten step. Inspectors noted both that employees were not washing hands when required and that the technique used was wrong. That combination suggests the kitchen's handwashing culture, not just individual behavior, was the problem on October 2.
Improper sewage disposal is an intermediate violation by classification, but the health risk is acute. Raw sewage contains E. coli, norovirus, hepatitis A and other pathogens. When wastewater is not properly contained and removed, those contaminants can reach food prep surfaces, equipment and food itself. The fact that toilet facilities were simultaneously cited as inadequate compounds that risk, because degraded restroom infrastructure discourages the employee handwashing that is supposed to break exactly this contamination chain.
The Longer Record
October 2, 2026 was the eighth inspection on record for Rawsha Restaurant, and the pattern across those eight visits is not a story of gradual improvement. The restaurant's 63 total violations over that span include a July 2025 inspection that produced 10 high-severity and 3 intermediate violations, the single worst visit on record before this one.
The facility has cycled repeatedly between clean inspections and high-violation ones. It passed with zero high-severity violations in April 2026, just six months before this inspection. It passed again in February 2025 and in June 2023. Between those clean visits, inspectors have returned to find 5 high-severity violations in February 2026, 7 in February 2024 and 2 in October 2023.
The October 2026 inspection, with 8 high-severity citations, is the second-worst on record by that measure. The restaurant has never been emergency-closed across all eight inspections.
Rawsha Restaurant on Turkey Lake Road remained open after inspectors documented food from an unknown source, failed parasite controls, two separate handwashing failures and improper sewage disposal on October 2, 2026.
The Longer Record
Prior Inspection Pattern
Rawsha Restaurant: Inspection History
The facility has never been emergency-closed.
