OVIEDO, FL. Food was not cooked to the required minimum temperature at Salsas Mexican Restaurant on Mitchell Hammock Road when a state inspector walked through the kitchen on May 27, 2026, one of eleven high-severity violations documented that day at the Seminole County location.
The restaurant was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The inspector's report lists eleven high-severity violations in total, plus three intermediate violations. The high-severity list includes two separate chemical storage citations, one for improper storage or labeling of toxic chemicals and a second for improper identification, storage, or use of toxic substances. Both cite the same core hazard: chemicals near food that can cause acute poisoning if they contaminate a surface or a dish.
The inspection also found no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked foods, meaning customers ordering items that carry inherent risk had no written notice. No person in charge was performing supervisory duties during the visit.
Three intermediate violations rounded out the report: improper sewage or wastewater disposal, multi-use utensils not properly cleaned, and single-use items being reused. Sewage disposal failures carry their own category of risk, creating the possibility of fecal contamination reaching food preparation areas.
What These Violations Mean
The undercooking citation is the most direct threat to anyone who ate at Salsas on or around May 27. Salmonella in poultry survives below 165 degrees Fahrenheit. A piece of chicken that looks done on the outside and reaches a plate at 155 or 160 degrees carries live bacteria. The customer has no way to know.
The two chemical violations compound the risk in a different direction. Improperly stored or unlabeled cleaning compounds can contaminate food contact surfaces or, in the worst cases, reach food directly. Mislabeled chemicals have caused acute poisoning incidents in restaurant settings when workers use the wrong substance on the wrong surface.
The employee illness violations, taken together, describe a facility where sick workers have no formal obligation to report symptoms and no written policy requiring them to do so. Norovirus, the most common cause of foodborne illness outbreaks in the United States, spreads primarily through infected food handlers. Without a reporting policy, a sick employee has no structured reason to stay home.
The handwashing failures close that loop. Inadequate facilities and improper technique mean that even a worker who intends to wash their hands may not be removing pathogens effectively. Studies consistently show that technique matters as much as the act itself.
The Longer Record
Salsas Mexican Restaurant: Inspection History
The May 2026 inspection is not an anomaly. State records show 20 inspections on file for this location, with 198 total violations accumulated across that history. The restaurant has never been emergency-closed.
Look at the pattern: five high-severity violations in October 2025, six in April 2025, six in November 2024, five in January 2024. The July 2023 inspection found ten high-severity violations and five intermediate ones, a figure that comes closest to the eleven documented this May. A follow-up inspection two weeks later in July 2023 showed zero high-severity violations, suggesting the problems were corrected. They returned.
The restaurant has twice passed follow-up inspections with clean records, in July 2023 and again in February 2024. Both times, high-severity violations reappeared at the next routine visit. The cycle has repeated across at least five inspection periods.
Still Open
State rules allow inspectors to leave a facility open after a high-severity inspection if the violations do not meet the threshold for emergency closure. Eleven high-severity violations at Salsas on May 27, 2026 did not meet that threshold.
The restaurant on Mitchell Hammock Road was serving customers when the inspector arrived. It was serving customers when the inspector left.