HIGH SPRINGS, FL. Back in December 2025, state inspectors walked into Shree Hanumanji Inc, a convenience store with a deli operation on the north side of Alachua County's edge in Gilchrist, and found an unlabeled spray bottle containing cleaner sitting in the deli area, where food is prepared and handled.
That was among 13 violations documented during the December 17 inspection by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. None were corrected before inspectors arrived. Two of the violations were repeats, meaning inspectors had flagged the same problems at this location before.
What Inspectors Found
The unlabeled spray bottle was a repeat violation, meaning this store had already been cited for the same problem before December. The inspector noted the bottle "was unidentified containing cleaner" and was stored in the deli area. It was labeled during the inspection.
Also in the deli, inspectors found old food residue built up on the handles of a two-door reach-in cooler. That, too, was a repeat violation.
The deli area accumulated several other findings. A food employee was not wearing a beard net or covering. Soiled linens were stored on top of a chest freezer and a processing table. Baking sheets had encrusted carbon deposits. The handwashing sink had no means of drying hands, though paper towels were provided during the visit.
Outside the building, boxes of single-use cups were stored directly on the floor of a storage shed. At the front of the store, inspectors observed a visible gap between the double front doors, exposing daylight, with no protection against insects or rodents.
The retail area had two countertop refrigerators holding butter, cheese, and bologna with no visible thermometers inside either unit. The deli's two-door reach-in cooler also lacked a visible thermometer. Inspectors measured ambient air temperatures of 39 degrees Fahrenheit in the retail cooler and 37 degrees in the deli unit, both within acceptable range, but the absence of thermometers means employees have no reliable way to monitor those temperatures themselves.
Kratom products on the shelves were improperly labeled under emergency rule 5KER25-4. Florida's rule requires kratom products to display the concentration of 7-Hydroxymitragynine, a potent alkaloid, expressed in parts per million on a dry-weight basis. The products at Shree Hanumanji did not meet that standard.
What These Violations Mean
An unlabeled spray bottle containing a cleaning chemical in a food preparation area is not a paperwork problem. Cleaners and sanitizers can cause serious harm if mistaken for food-safe products or applied incorrectly to surfaces where food is handled. The fact that this was a repeat violation means the store had already been told to fix it.
The absence of employee health reporting procedures and a written vomiting and diarrheal event cleanup plan points to a gap in basic food safety infrastructure. These written protocols exist so that employees know when they are too sick to handle food and what to do if a contamination event occurs. Without them, there is no verifiable system in place. At a store with a deli operation, that matters.
Sanitizer test strips may sound minor, but they are the only way to confirm that sanitizing solutions are mixed at the concentration that actually kills pathogens. Without them, a surface can appear clean while carrying bacteria at levels that cause illness.
The kratom labeling violation carries a different kind of risk. Kratom products containing elevated concentrations of 7-Hydroxymitragynine have been linked to serious health effects. Florida's emergency labeling rule was designed so consumers can see exactly what concentration they are purchasing. Products that omit that information leave buyers without the data they need to make an informed decision.
The Longer Record
The December 17 inspection was not an isolated event for this location. FDACS records show at least three additional inspections at Shree Hanumanji in the surrounding months, and the pattern they reveal is uneven.
A November 2024 inspection found 8 violations, including one repeat, and was conducted under the designation "Operating Without a Valid Food Permit." That is a significant administrative finding. The store met sanitation inspection requirements at that visit, but the permit issue alone signals a lapse in basic compliance.
A January 2026 focused inspection found zero violations, which would ordinarily suggest improvement. But a February 2026 inspection found 12 violations with one repeat, and the store again met sanitation requirements at that visit.
Across four documented inspections spanning roughly 15 months, the store has accumulated violations in overlapping categories: repeat surface contamination, repeat toxic material labeling, missing documentation, and structural issues. The two repeat violations in December 2025 indicate that findings from prior visits were not fully resolved before inspectors returned.
As of the December 17 inspection, the unlabeled spray bottle and the missing hand-drying supplies were corrected on site. The remaining 11 violations, including the repeat food residue on cooler handles, the missing employee health procedures, the absent cleanup plan, the kratom labeling failures, and the gap in the front doors, were not corrected before inspectors left.
