SEMINOLE COUNTY, FL. Three restaurants in Seminole County racked up nine high-severity violations each during the week of October 6, and inspectors found that two of them were serving food from unapproved sources with no way to trace it back if someone got sick.
The week's inspections covered 58 visits across 50 facilities. Twelve of those facilities came away with two or more high-severity violations. The cumulative count from those twelve alone reached 96 high-severity citations in seven days.
The Worst of the Week
F&D Cantina Lake Mary on Colonial Townpark led the county in total citations this week, with nine high-severity and five intermediate violations. The inspector found no person in charge performing duties, employees not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, food contact surfaces that were not properly cleaned or sanitized, and toxic chemicals improperly stored. The cantina was also cited for failing to follow parasite destruction procedures, a violation that matters acutely for any facility serving raw or lightly cooked fish.
Bruder Cerveza Brewery Restaurant on Oviedo Mall Boulevard matched that nine-violation count. Inspectors cited the brewery for food from unapproved or unknown sources, inadequate shell stock identification records, failure to follow parasite destruction procedures, food in poor condition or adulterated, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods. The facility also lacked adequate handwashing facilities and had no person in charge present or performing duties.
New Hong Kong on SR 434 in Altamonte Springs also drew nine high-severity citations. Inspectors found no person in charge, no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, food from unapproved sources, inadequate shell stock identification records, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, and no consumer advisory.
Nawabi Hyderabad House Biryani Place on West Lake Mary Boulevard drew eight high-severity violations including a finding that food was not cooked to the required minimum temperature. Inspectors also cited employees for not reporting illness symptoms and for both inadequate and improper handwashing. Toxic chemicals were improperly stored and labeled, and a second citation covered toxic substances improperly identified and used.
Moliendo Cafe on US Highway 17-92 in Longwood collected eight high-severity violations on a single visit. The list included no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness symptoms, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, food not cooked to minimum temperature, and two separate chemical storage citations alongside the missing consumer advisory.
Royal Rasoi on Lake Emma Road in Lake Mary was cited for eight high-severity violations including food from unapproved or unknown sources and food not cooked to the required minimum temperature. No person in charge was present, no employee health policy existed, and toxic chemicals were improperly stored.
Dragon City on Winter Springs Boulevard in Oviedo drew eight high-severity violations, including a finding that food was contaminated by chemical, physical, or biological hazards. The inspector also cited inadequate shell stock identification records, food not cooked to minimum temperature, improper use of time as a public health control, and improperly cleaned food contact surfaces.
NY Best Pizza on South Westmonte Drive in Altamonte Springs was cited for seven high-severity violations, including food from unapproved or unknown sources and no employee health policy. No person in charge was present or performing duties, and food contact surfaces were not properly cleaned or sanitized.
Totoya Sushi on West SR 436 in Altamonte Springs drew seven high-severity violations including food from unapproved sources, toxic chemicals improperly stored, and improperly cleaned food contact surfaces. Inspectors also cited the restaurant for no employee health policy and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, a notable finding at a sushi restaurant.
Jerry's Pizza and Subs on West SR 436 in Altamonte Springs collected seven high-severity violations including food in poor condition or adulterated, food not cooked to minimum temperature, food from unapproved sources, and a citation for no allergen awareness demonstrated. That last violation is the only allergen citation in this week's Seminole County data.
Giovanni's Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria on Rinehart Road in Lake Mary was cited for seven high-severity violations and four intermediate ones, including an intermediate citation for improper sewage or wastewater disposal. The high-severity list included no person in charge, employees not reporting illness symptoms, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, food not cooked to minimum temperature, and toxic chemicals improperly stored.
Oaks on Winter Springs Boulevard drew the fewest high-severity violations of the twelve, with two citations: food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
What These Violations Mean
The single most common high-severity pattern this week was the cluster of employee illness and handwashing failures. Nawabi Hyderabad House, NY Best Pizza, F&D Cantina, New Hong Kong, Moliendo Cafe, Royal Rasoi, Dragon City, Totoya Sushi, Jerry's Pizza and Subs, and Giovanni's were all cited for employees not reporting illness symptoms. Norovirus, the most common cause of foodborne illness outbreaks in the United States, spreads directly from sick food workers to customers when reporting systems break down. A written health policy is the first structural barrier against that route, and inspectors found no adequate policy at NY Best Pizza, New Hong Kong, Moliendo Cafe, Royal Rasoi, Dragon City, and Totoya Sushi.
Handwashing technique failures compounded those illness risks at most of the same facilities. Inspectors cited improper hand and arm washing technique at Nawabi Hyderabad House, NY Best Pizza, F&D Cantina, New Hong Kong, Moliendo Cafe, Royal Rasoi, Dragon City, Totoya Sushi, and Giovanni's. The distinction between "no handwashing" and "improper technique" is meaningful: a worker who attempts to wash hands but does so incorrectly can still transfer pathogens to every surface they touch afterward.
Food from unapproved or unknown sources appeared at Bruder Cerveza, New Hong Kong, Royal Rasoi, NY Best Pizza, Totoya Sushi, and Jerry's Pizza and Subs. When food enters a kitchen through an unapproved supplier, it has bypassed USDA and FDA inspection checkpoints. If a customer becomes ill, investigators have no chain of custody to follow. Bruder Cerveza carried that risk further with inadequate shell stock identification records. Shellfish are among the highest-risk foods served in any restaurant, and without proper tagging and documentation, there is no way to trace a contaminated oyster or clam back to its harvest bed.
The chemical storage citations at F&D Cantina, Nawabi Hyderabad House, Moliendo Cafe, Royal Rasoi, Totoya Sushi, and Giovanni's represent a distinct and immediate hazard. Improperly stored or unlabeled cleaning chemicals near food preparation surfaces can cause acute poisoning without any visible sign of contamination. Giovanni's added a sewage disposal violation to that picture, creating the possibility of fecal contamination moving through the facility independent of anything happening at the prep stations.
The Longer Record
The state's inspection database does not include prior inspection counts in this week's data release, which limits direct comparison of each facility's cumulative history. What the current week's record establishes on its own is a pattern of structural failures rather than isolated incidents. The violations at F&D Cantina, New Hong Kong, and Bruder Cerveza were not single-item oversights. Each facility accumulated citations across management presence, employee illness policy, handwashing infrastructure, food sourcing, and chemical storage simultaneously. That combination suggests systemic gaps rather than one-time lapses.
The geographic spread is also notable. The twelve facilities cited this week are distributed across Lake Mary, Altamonte Springs, Oviedo, Longwood, and Winter Springs. This is not a single corridor or a single ownership cluster. The same violation categories, particularly the illness-reporting and handwashing failures, appear at Indian, Chinese, Italian, pizza, sushi, and brewery-style restaurants alike.
Jerry's Pizza and Subs carried the week's only allergen awareness citation. Food allergies send 30,000 Americans to emergency rooms annually, and unlike most foodborne illnesses, an allergic reaction can become fatal within minutes. That citation appeared alongside food from unapproved sources and food in poor condition, making Jerry's one of the more varied violation profiles in this week's data.
Dragon City's citation for food contaminated by chemical, physical, or biological hazards stood alone in the county this week. The facility was also cited for inadequate shell stock records and for not properly using time as a public health control, a method that requires precise documentation to be valid. Both of those citations remained unresolved at the time of inspection.
