LAKE MARY, FL. An October 9 inspection of Royal Rasoi on Lake Emma Road turned up food sourced from unapproved or unknown suppliers, a violation that means inspectors could not confirm whether the ingredients on that kitchen's line had ever passed a federal safety check.
That finding was one of eight high-severity violations documented during the visit. The restaurant was not emergency-closed.
What Inspectors Found
The inspector documented that food on the premises came from an unapproved or unknown source. That single violation undercuts every other safety assumption: if the origin of an ingredient is unknown, there is no supply chain record, no USDA or FDA inspection stamp, and no way to trace it if a customer gets sick.
The inspector also found that food was not being cooked to required minimum temperatures. In a kitchen serving Indian cuisine, where poultry and meat dishes are central to the menu, that means Salmonella and other pathogens that die at 165 degrees Fahrenheit could survive to the plate.
Toxic chemicals were improperly stored or labeled near food. Food contact surfaces, the cutting boards, prep tables, and utensils that touch ingredients directly, were not properly cleaned or sanitized.
No person in charge was present or performing supervisory duties at the time of the inspection. That finding sat alongside three interconnected violations: no written employee health policy, employees not reporting illness symptoms, and improper handwashing technique. Together, those four violations describe a kitchen with no active oversight of the people most capable of transmitting illness directly to customers.
What These Violations Mean
Food from an unapproved source is not a paperwork problem. When a restaurant cannot document where its food came from, health officials have no chain of custody to follow if diners start reporting illness. Listeria, Salmonella, and E. coli outbreaks have been traced specifically to uninspected supply chains, and the absence of records is what turns a sick customer into an unsolvable case.
The cooking temperature violation compounds that risk directly. Salmonella in poultry survives at temperatures below 165 degrees Fahrenheit. If the food arriving at Royal Rasoi bypassed federal inspection and was then undercooked, customers had no safety net at either end of the process.
The cluster of illness-related violations, no health policy, no symptom reporting, and improper handwashing technique, describes a specific and well-documented outbreak pathway. Norovirus, the most common cause of foodborne illness in the United States with roughly 20 million cases annually, spreads primarily through infected food workers who do not know they are required to report symptoms, or who wash their hands incorrectly and believe they have done enough.
Improperly stored toxic chemicals near food represent a separate and acute danger. Mislabeled or misplaced cleaning agents and pesticides can contaminate food directly, and the symptoms of chemical poisoning are often mistaken for other illnesses, which delays diagnosis and response.
The Longer Record
The October 9 inspection was not an anomaly. State records show Royal Rasoi has been inspected 30 times and has accumulated 221 total violations across that history. The restaurant has never been emergency-closed.
A follow-up inspection on October 14, five days after the visit that produced eight high-severity violations, still found four high-severity violations and one intermediate. That follow-up record suggests the October 9 findings were not resolved quickly or completely.
Looking back further, the pattern holds. The August 2024 inspection produced six high-severity violations. January 2024 produced five high-severity violations and two intermediate. August 2023 produced four high-severity violations and two intermediate. February 2025 produced five high-severity violations. The single clean inspection in that stretch, zero high, zero intermediate in February 2025, was followed two days later by five high-severity violations on February 17, 2025.
The food sourcing violation documented on October 9 is particularly notable in the context of that history. Across eight prior inspections covering more than three years, the restaurant has consistently produced high-severity findings. None of those inspections resulted in an emergency closure.
The Pattern
Royal Rasoi has now produced high-severity violations in seven of the eight most recently recorded inspections before October 9. The counts have ranged from three to eight in a single visit.
The October 9 inspection found food of unknown origin being served to customers, cooking temperatures that could leave pathogens alive in finished dishes, and no manager present to oversee any of it.
The restaurant remained open.
