PORT ORANGE, FL. Food from an unapproved or unknown source was served at Spruce Creek Country Club at 1900 Country Club Drive when state inspectors arrived on May 4, according to inspection records. That single violation, which means the food bypassed federal safety inspections and cannot be traced if someone gets sick, was one of seven high-severity citations documented that day. The club never closed.

What Inspectors Found

1HIGHFood from unapproved or unknown sourceNo traceability
2HIGHFood not cooked to required minimum temperaturePathogen survival risk
3HIGHParasite destruction procedures not followedLive parasite risk
4HIGHToxic chemicals improperly stored or labeledPoisoning risk
5HIGHFood contact surfaces not properly cleaned/sanitizedCross-contamination
6HIGHInadequate handwashing facilitiesHygiene infrastructure failure
7HIGHPerson in charge not present or not performing dutiesManagement failure
8INTMulti-use utensils not properly cleanedBiofilm risk
9INTInadequate ventilation and lightingAir quality failure

The full list of high-severity violations reads like a cascade of compounding failures. Inspectors cited the facility for food not cooked to the required minimum temperature, a violation that allows pathogens like Salmonella in poultry to survive and reach a customer's plate. Parasite destruction procedures were not followed, meaning fish or other susceptible proteins were served without the freezing or cooking protocols required to kill organisms like Anisakis or tapeworm larvae.

Toxic chemicals were improperly stored or labeled near the kitchen operation, creating a direct contamination pathway to food. Food contact surfaces, the cutting boards, prep tables, and equipment that touch every ingredient before it reaches a plate, were not properly cleaned or sanitized.

The handwashing facilities were inadequate, meaning the physical infrastructure for basic hygiene was not in place. And the person in charge was either absent or not performing their duties, which inspectors documented as a high-severity violation in its own right.

Two intermediate violations rounded out the inspection: multi-use utensils were not properly cleaned, and ventilation and lighting were inadequate in the kitchen.

What These Violations Mean

The food-sourcing violation is the one with the longest tail. When food comes from an unapproved or unknown source, there is no chain of custody. If a member or guest becomes ill, investigators cannot trace the ingredient back to a supplier, a lot number, or a recall. The USDA and FDA inspection system exists precisely to catch contamination before it reaches a kitchen. Food that bypasses that system carries risks that inspectors cannot assess after the fact.

The cooking temperature and parasite destruction violations work together in a particularly dangerous way. Undercooking is one of the leading documented causes of foodborne illness outbreaks in the United States. Salmonella in poultry survives below 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Parasites in fish and pork survive without proper freezing protocols. Both violations at the same facility, on the same inspection day, mean the kitchen was not reliably killing what heat and cold are designed to kill.

The chemical storage violation adds a separate category of risk. Improperly stored or unlabeled chemicals near food preparation areas can contaminate food through spills, aerosol drift, or simple mislabeling. This is not a paperwork violation. It is a poisoning pathway.

The absence of an active person in charge ties all of it together. CDC data shows that establishments without active managerial control log roughly three times as many critical violations as those with engaged supervision. At Spruce Creek on May 4, the record suggests no one was in that role.

The Longer Record

Spruce Creek Country Club: Recent Inspection History

May 4, 20267 high-severity, 2 intermediate violations. Facility remained open.
April 13, 20263 high-severity, 1 intermediate violations.
October 2, 20253 high-severity, 2 intermediate violations.
May 27, 20253 high-severity, 2 intermediate violations.
November 19, 20246 high-severity, 1 intermediate violations.
June 13, 20249 high-severity, 2 intermediate violations — highest single-inspection total on record.

The May 4 inspection was not an anomaly. State records show 35 inspections on file for Spruce Creek Country Club, with 249 total violations accumulated across that history. High-severity citations have appeared in nearly every recent inspection cycle.

The June 2024 inspection produced nine high-severity violations, the worst single-inspection result in the recent record. November 2024 brought six. The only clean inspection in the past two years came in October 2025, when inspectors found zero high-severity or intermediate violations. Three weeks later, in the same October, a follow-up visit found three high-severity violations again.

The facility has never been emergency-closed in its inspection history. The May 4 inspection, with seven high-severity violations including food from an unknown source, undercooking, improper chemical storage, and no active manager on duty, did not change that.

Spruce Creek Country Club remained open after the inspection.