KEY BISCAYNE, FL. A state inspector walked into Spruce Juice on Chandon Boulevard on June 5 and found food sourced from suppliers that have never been vetted by federal safety authorities, no consumer advisory warning customers about raw or undercooked items, and evidence that parasite-destruction procedures for fish were not being followed. Seven of the nine violations documented that day were classified high-severity. The facility was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The unapproved food source citation sits at the top of the list for a reason. Food that bypasses USDA and FDA inspection has no documented safety chain. If a customer gets sick, investigators have no supplier records to trace.
The parasite-destruction failure compounds that concern. When fish, pork, or wild game is served without proper freezing or cooking protocols, parasites including Anisakis and Trichinella can survive into the finished dish.
Inspectors also cited inadequate shell stock identification records, meaning shellfish on the premises could not be traced to a certified harvester. Oysters, clams, and mussels eaten raw or lightly cooked are among the highest-risk foods in any kitchen. Without harvest tags and dealer records, there is no way to identify the source if a customer develops a vibrio or norovirus illness.
The food contact surface violation and the improper handwashing technique citation arrived together. Surfaces that are not properly sanitized between uses transfer bacteria directly to food. Handwashing that looks correct but fails on technique, incomplete scrubbing, skipping the wrist, rinsing too briefly, leaves pathogens on hands regardless of intent.
The time-as-public-health-control violation is the one that gets overlooked in a list this long. When a facility uses time rather than temperature to manage food safety, it is operating under a specific protocol that requires precise tracking. The inspector found that protocol was not being followed, meaning food sat in the bacterial growth zone, between 41 and 135 degrees, without either a temperature check or a documented discard time.
What These Violations Mean
The combination of unapproved sourcing and missing shellfish records creates a traceability gap that matters most after someone gets sick. Florida health investigators rely on supplier documentation to identify whether an illness is isolated or part of a broader outbreak. Without those records at Spruce Juice, that chain breaks entirely.
The missing consumer advisory is a specific danger for people who are pregnant, elderly, immunocompromised, or very young. State code requires any facility serving raw or undercooked animal products to post a visible warning. Without it, a customer who orders something prepared with raw fish or undercooked shellfish has no way of knowing they are accepting that risk.
Bacterial biofilm, the result of multi-use utensils not being properly cleaned, is not visible to the customer or even to a casual inspection. Biofilms form within 24 hours on improperly sanitized surfaces and protect bacteria from standard cleaning agents. Once established, they require deliberate mechanical removal to eliminate.
The ventilation citation, classified intermediate, is not the most urgent item on this list. But inadequate ventilation in a food prep area accelerates grease accumulation and creates conditions that make other sanitation problems harder to control.
The Longer Record
Spruce Juice: Inspection History
The June 5 inspection was the 22nd on record for Spruce Juice. Across those 22 visits, inspectors have documented 106 total violations. The facility has never been emergency-closed.
The pattern across the prior eight inspections is not one of a business that had one bad stretch. High-severity violations appeared in six of the eight most recent inspections before June 5. The August 2024 visit produced eight high-severity citations. The October 2024 visit produced five. The December 2025 visit produced three.
The two inspections that came back clean, June 2024 and October 2023, are the exceptions. Every other documented visit found at least one high-severity violation.
June 5 produced the highest single-inspection high-severity count in the facility's recent record.
Still Open
State inspectors have the authority to order an emergency closure when violations pose an immediate threat to public health. That threshold was not triggered on June 5 at Spruce Juice, despite unapproved food sourcing, missing shellfish traceability records, failed parasite-destruction protocols, and no warning to customers that raw or undercooked items were on the menu.
As of the inspection date, the facility at 200 Chandon Boulevard, Suite 110 remained open for business.