JACKSONVILLE, FL. Back in December 2025, a state inspector walked into Seba Food Store and found hemp extract products on the shelf that were, in the inspector's own words, "attractive to children, resemblance to commercially available products intended for children." A stop sale order was issued on the spot.
That was one of 18 violations documented at the Jacksonville convenience store on December 19, 2025, in an inspection that also found the store had been operating without a valid food permit, a problem inspectors had flagged before.
What Inspectors Found
The permit violation was marked repeat, meaning inspectors had already cited the store for the same issue. The December inspection was categorized as an "Operating Without a Valid Food Permit" visit, meaning the primary trigger for the inspection was the missing permit itself.
The hemp extract findings dominated the report. Inspectors cited the store on eight separate hemp-related violations. Products were found without child-resistant packaging, without age restriction signage, without the name and address of the processor or distributor, without serving size information, and past their expiration dates. Several contained color additives, which is prohibited under Florida's hemp extract rules.
One product line was flagged specifically because it resembled commercially available snacks or candy marketed to children. The inspector issued a stop sale order and the products were voluntarily discarded.
The Kratom Citations
The kratom violations were equally detailed. Inspectors found multiple products missing the concentration of 7-Hydroxymitragynine, a potent alkaloid in kratom that Florida's emergency rule requires be listed on the label. The specific products named in the report were Nature's Organix White Maeng Da Kratom Capsules, Nature's Organix Gold Kratom Capsules, K Chill Kratom Shot, Viva Zen Kratom Shot, and Viva Zen Kava and Kratom Shot.
All kratom products were voluntarily discarded. Stop sale orders were issued.
Beyond the alkaloid concentration requirement, inspectors also cited the store for selling kratom products that lacked the name and location of the manufacturer, a required nutrition or supplement facts panel, and the net quantity of package contents. No age restriction sign for kratom was posted, though the inspector noted signage was put up during the visit.
In the retail area, raw shell eggs were found displayed directly over ready-to-eat gallon milk jugs. The inspector noted items were moved to an appropriate location during the visit.
What These Violations Mean
The operating-without-a-permit violation is the foundation of everything else. A food permit is how the state tracks and inspects a retail food establishment. A store selling consumable products without one has, by definition, been operating outside the inspection system, meaning the state had no routine mechanism to catch the problems documented in December.
The hemp and kratom labeling failures carry direct safety consequences. When a product sold for human consumption lacks the name and address of its manufacturer or distributor, there is no reliable way to trace it if a customer is harmed. When kratom products are missing the concentration of 7-Hydroxymitragynine, the buyer has no way to know the potency of what they are purchasing. Florida adopted emergency rules on kratom labeling precisely because of concerns about variability in product strength.
The child-attractiveness finding is among the most serious in the hemp section. Florida law prohibits hemp extract products that resemble candy or snacks marketed to children, or that contain color additives. The products flagged at Seba Food Store in December met both criteria, according to the inspector. Products designed to appeal to children are a distinct category of concern because minors are not a legal market for hemp extract products.
The raw egg cross-contamination finding, while corrected during the visit, illustrates a basic food safety lapse. Raw shell eggs can carry Salmonella. Storing them above ready-to-eat items creates a direct drip contamination risk. It was resolved on site, but it should not have required an inspector to fix it.
The Longer Record
The inspection history at this location is short but pointed. The December 19, 2025 inspection was only the third on record at this address. The first, in April 2025, was a preoperational inspection that the store met with just one violation. The second was a focused inspection also on December 19, 2025, which recorded zero violations.
The operating-without-a-permit citation is marked as a repeat violation. That designation means the permit problem was not new information to the store when inspectors arrived in December.
Of the 18 violations documented in December, zero were corrected on site at the time the report was filed. Several products were voluntarily discarded and stop sale orders were issued, but the permit violation, the missing sanitizer test kit, the absence of vomiting and diarrheal event cleanup procedures, and the uncovered restroom receptacle were all left unresolved when the inspector departed.