MELBOURNE BEACH, FL. Back in December 2025, state inspectors walked into a Shell convenience store on A1A and found it open, selling food, and operating without a valid food permit.
The Shell A1A Melbourne on Melbourne Beach was inspected on December 30, 2025, by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Inspectors documented eight violations, including two classified as priority-level, and two that were repeats from prior visits. None were corrected on site at the time of the inspection report.
What Inspectors Found
The permit violation alone set the inspection in motion. According to the state record, the inspection was triggered specifically because the food establishment was "open and operating without a food permit." That is not a paperwork technicality. It means the store had not secured the state authorization required to legally sell food to the public.
Inside the retail area, inspectors found packages of raw bacon stored above ready-to-eat juices. The inspector noted the bacon was moved to the bottom shelf during the visit. A can of Lysol was also found stored over single-use paper plates and cups. The manager relocated it during the inspection.
The walk-in cooler had drinks stored directly on the floor, not on shelves or pallets at least six inches above the surface as required. The backroom restrooms lacked self-closing doors. The store also had no certified food protection manager on record and no written procedures for employees to follow in the event of a vomit or diarrhea cleanup incident.
The Same Problems, Again
Two of the eight violations were repeats. Inspectors had previously cited the store for failing to post an age restriction sign for hemp and hemp extract products intended for human consumption. They found the same sign missing again in December.
The same was true for kratom. Inspectors had cited the store before for not posting a required age restriction notice for kratom products sold for human consumption. That sign was still not up on December 30.
Both times, inspectors noted that documentation was provided during the visit, but the signage itself had not been posted.
What These Violations Mean
Operating without a valid food permit means the state had no current assurance the facility had been evaluated and approved to handle and sell food safely. If something went wrong, including a contamination event or a foodborne illness complaint, there would be no current permit record tying the establishment to an active regulatory relationship. For shoppers, it means the store was selling food outside the oversight framework that exists specifically to protect them.
Raw animal food stored above ready-to-eat items is one of the most direct cross-contamination risks in any food retail environment. Raw bacon carries bacteria including salmonella and listeria. When it is placed above juices or other products that will not be cooked before consumption, drips or leaks from the packaging can contaminate those items directly. The inspector flagged this as a priority violation for exactly that reason.
Storing a cleaning product like Lysol above single-use plates and cups creates a different but equally direct risk. If the can leaked, dripped, or was accidentally knocked over, the chemical could contaminate items that customers would later use to eat or drink. That violation is also classified as priority.
The missing age restriction signs for hemp and kratom products carry a different kind of public health weight. Florida requires these notices because both substances carry risks that are considered inappropriate for minors. Finding the same signs absent on multiple inspections suggests the store has not made compliance a consistent priority.
The Longer Record
The December 30 inspection was classified as an "Operating Without a Valid Food Permit" inspection, meaning the visit itself was triggered by the permit lapse rather than a routine cycle. That context matters. The store was not flagged during a scheduled review. Inspectors came because the store was operating outside the bounds of its licensing.
The repeat violations on hemp and kratom signage indicate at least one prior inspection had already put the store on notice about these specific requirements. Finding them unaddressed on a subsequent visit, particularly one prompted by a permit problem, points to a pattern of incomplete follow-through.
None of the eight violations documented on December 30 were recorded as corrected on site in the final inspection report, even though the inspector noted that raw bacon was moved and Lysol was relocated during the visit. The permit violation, the missing signage, the walk-in cooler storage issue, the restroom doors, and the absent food protection manager certificate were all still unresolved when the inspector left.
The store had no certified food protection manager on record as of that visit.