NEW SMYRNA BEACH, FL. A food worker at Sharky's NSB on Flagler Avenue was observed not reporting symptoms of illness during a September 3 inspection that produced seven high-severity violations, a finding state health data links directly to the leading cause of multi-victim foodborne outbreaks.
The restaurant was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The inspector documented that no written employee health policy existed and that employees were not reporting illness symptoms, a combination that removes every procedural barrier between a sick kitchen worker and a customer's plate. The inspector also cited toxic substances that were improperly identified, stored, or used, a violation that carries immediate risk of chemical contamination of food or surfaces.
Handwashing technique was flagged as improper, meaning employees were washing their hands but not correctly enough to remove pathogens. That violation is distinct from simply skipping handwashing entirely, and arguably harder to detect from the customer side.
The inspection also found that time was not being used properly as a public health control. At Sharky's NSB, a beach-adjacent restaurant where raw or undercooked seafood is a menu staple, the inspector additionally noted no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, the disclosure required to warn high-risk customers before they order.
No person in charge was present or performing supervisory duties during the inspection.
What These Violations Mean
The cluster of illness-related violations at Sharky's NSB on September 3 represents a breakdown at nearly every layer of the food safety system. The absence of an employee health policy and the failure to report illness symptoms are not paperwork problems. Norovirus, which accounts for roughly 20 million cases of foodborne illness in the United States each year, spreads most efficiently through food workers who handle food while sick and have no formal process requiring them to disclose symptoms or stay home.
Improper handwashing technique compounds that risk. Studies show that incorrect technique, cutting the process short or missing contact surfaces, leaves measurable pathogen loads on hands even after a wash attempt. In a kitchen where a sick employee is also washing hands incorrectly, the contamination pathway to food is essentially unobstructed.
The toxic substance citation carries a different but immediate risk. Cleaning chemicals stored near or above food preparation surfaces, or in unlabeled containers, can contaminate food directly. This violation is among the fastest to produce harm and among the most preventable.
The absence of a consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods matters specifically because Sharky's is a seafood restaurant. Pregnant women, elderly customers, and people with compromised immune systems face elevated risk from undercooked fish or shellfish. Without the advisory on the menu, those customers have no way to make an informed choice.
The Longer Record
The September 3 inspection was not an anomaly. State records show Sharky's NSB has been inspected seven times in total, accumulating 50 violations across that history. The pattern is not one of a restaurant that stumbled once.
The inspection immediately preceding the September 3 visit, conducted February 2, 2026, produced four high-severity and four intermediate violations. Before that, a September 11, 2025 inspection produced seven high-severity and three intermediate violations, an identical high-severity count to the September 3, 2026 inspection. The restaurant has never been emergency-closed.
Two inspections, in February 2026 and March 2025, showed zero high-severity violations, which makes the return to seven high-severity findings more notable. The record does not show sustained improvement.
The September 10, 2026 follow-up inspection, conducted one week after the September 3 visit, found three high-severity and one intermediate violation. That represents a reduction, but three remaining high-severity violations after a week of remediation is not a clean bill of health.
Still Open
Florida's inspection system allows inspectors to close a restaurant immediately when conditions pose an imminent threat to public health. Seven high-severity violations at Sharky's NSB on September 3, including an employee not reporting illness symptoms, no health policy, improperly stored toxic substances, and no functioning supervisory presence, did not meet that threshold.
The restaurant served customers that day and every day since.
