KISSIMMEE, FL. An inspector visiting Rico Chino Asian Cuisine 2 on East Osceola Parkway on July 14 found the restaurant serving food sourced from unapproved or unknown suppliers, a violation that means there is no way to trace that food back through any USDA or FDA-regulated supply chain if a customer gets sick.
The restaurant collected seven high-severity violations and two intermediate violations during that inspection. It was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The unapproved food sourcing violation stood alongside a citation for employees not reporting symptoms of illness, one of the most direct routes from a sick kitchen worker to a sick customer. Inspectors also documented improper hand and arm washing technique, meaning workers were attempting to wash their hands but doing so in a way that left pathogens behind.
Toxic chemicals were found improperly stored or labeled near the food operation. Food contact surfaces, the cutting boards and prep equipment that touch every ingredient going onto a plate, were not properly cleaned or sanitized. The restaurant was also cited for failing to use time as a public health control correctly, and for posting no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked menu items.
The two intermediate violations covered improper use of wiping cloths and inadequate or improperly maintained toilet facilities.
What These Violations Mean
The food from unapproved sources violation is not a paperwork problem. When a restaurant buys food outside the regulated supply chain, there is no inspection record, no lot number, and no way for health officials to trace an outbreak back to its origin. If a customer becomes ill after eating at Rico Chino Asian Cuisine 2, investigators would have nowhere to start.
The employee illness reporting failure compounds that risk. Norovirus, the leading cause of foodborne illness outbreaks in restaurant settings, spreads most efficiently when a sick worker handles food without disclosing symptoms. A single infected employee can expose dozens of customers in a single shift.
Improperly stored or labeled toxic chemicals near food preparation areas represent a different category of danger entirely. Mislabeled containers or chemicals stored too close to food surfaces can cause acute poisoning, not the slow-onset bacterial illness most people associate with bad restaurant food, but immediate, severe reactions.
The failure to post a consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods matters most for the customers least able to absorb the risk. Elderly diners, pregnant women, young children, and anyone with a compromised immune system rely on that disclosure to make an informed decision. Without it, they have no warning.
The Pattern
This was not a bad day for Rico Chino Asian Cuisine 2. It was a Tuesday in a long-running series.
State records show the restaurant has been inspected 29 times and has accumulated 291 total violations across that history. It has never been emergency-closed.
The July 14 inspection, with its seven high-severity violations, is nearly identical to the inspection conducted six months earlier, on January 21, 2026, which produced eight high-severity and five intermediate violations. The inspection before that, on July 9, 2025, produced seven high-severity and two intermediate violations, matching this week's count almost exactly.
The Longer Record
Going back to 2023, the pattern holds. The March 2025 inspection found eight high-severity violations. The September 2024 inspection found six. The April 2024 inspection found eight. The November 2023 inspection found eight.
The lone exception in the recent record is the August 2023 inspection, which produced zero high-severity and zero intermediate violations. Every inspection before and after that one has documented multiple high-severity findings.
The food from unapproved sources violation and the employee illness reporting failure that appeared on July 14 are not new categories of concern for this location. Across eight recent inspections covering roughly three years, the restaurant has posted between five and eight high-severity violations in six of them.
State records show no emergency closure has ever been issued for this location across all 29 inspections on file.
As of July 14, 2026, Rico Chino Asian Cuisine 2 remained open for business.
