ORLANDO, FL. State inspectors visiting San Jose's Original Mexican Restaurant on South Apopka Vineland Road on May 13, 2026 found food from an unapproved or unknown source being served to customers, one of six high-severity violations documented that day. The restaurant was not closed.
Food from an unapproved source means inspectors could not confirm the food had passed through any USDA or FDA safety inspection. If a customer got sick, there would be no supply chain to trace.
That was not the only high-severity finding.
What Inspectors Found
Inspectors also cited food contaminated by chemical, physical, or biological hazards. That category covers everything from sanitizer residue on food to glass fragments or bacterial contamination introduced during preparation.
Food contact surfaces were not properly cleaned or sanitized. Cutting boards, prep tables, and utensils that carry residue from one food to the next are among the most direct routes for bacterial transfer in any kitchen.
Employees were observed using improper handwashing technique. The citation is not about skipping handwashing entirely; it means workers went through the motion without removing pathogens from their hands.
The restaurant had no employee health policy, or an inadequate one. And there was no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked menu items. The seventh violation, classified as intermediate, was inadequate ventilation and lighting.
What These Violations Mean
The food-from-unapproved-source violation is the one that most directly limits any response if a customer becomes ill. Food sourced through legitimate, inspected channels creates a paper trail. When that trail does not exist, public health officials investigating an outbreak cannot identify where contamination entered the supply chain or how many other customers may have been exposed.
The contaminated food violation sits alongside it as the most acute hazard. Contamination by chemicals means sanitizers or cleaning agents came into contact with food. Contamination by physical hazards means hard foreign material, including glass or metal, may have entered a dish. Contamination by biological hazards means bacterial or viral material reached food that customers then ate.
The absence of an employee health policy means the restaurant had no documented system for keeping sick workers out of the kitchen. Norovirus, one of the most common causes of foodborne illness outbreaks in restaurant settings, spreads directly from infected food handlers to customers. A written policy is the baseline mechanism for preventing that.
The missing consumer advisory for raw or undercooked items is a separate category of risk. Pregnant women, elderly customers, young children, and anyone with a compromised immune system face elevated danger from undercooked proteins. Without a posted advisory, those customers had no information on which to base a choice.
The Longer Record
May's inspection was not the first time San Jose's Original Mexican Restaurant accumulated serious violations. The facility has four inspections on record, and three of those four visits produced high-severity citations.
In February 2025, inspectors found four high-severity violations and one intermediate. Nine months later, in November 2025, two more high-severity violations were documented. The September 2024 visit produced no high-severity findings, only three intermediate violations. That visit is the only one in the facility's record without a high-severity citation.
Across all four inspections, the restaurant has accumulated 21 total violations. The facility has never been emergency-closed.
The pattern is one of persistent high-severity findings across multiple inspection cycles, not a single bad day. Three of the four inspections on record produced high-severity violations. May's inspection, with six, is the worst single visit in the facility's history.
Open for Business
State inspectors documented six high-severity violations at San Jose's Original Mexican Restaurant on May 13, 2026. They documented food of unknown origin being served to customers. They documented food that had been contaminated. They documented surfaces used to prepare food that had not been properly sanitized. They documented employees washing their hands incorrectly.
Florida law gives inspectors the authority to order an emergency closure when conditions pose an immediate threat to public health.
The restaurant on South Apopka Vineland Road was not closed.