MIAMI, FL. State inspectors visiting Sticky Rice Lao Thai & Sushi on SW 42nd Street in May 2026 found that the restaurant was not following parasite destruction procedures for fish, a failure that can leave customers exposed to Anisakis and tapeworm in sushi and other raw or undercooked seafood dishes.

That was one of nine high-severity violations documented during the May 13 inspection. The restaurant was not emergency-closed.

What Inspectors Found

1HIGHParasite destruction procedures not followedFish served raw or undercooked
2HIGHFood not cooked to required minimum temperaturePathogens survive undercooking
3HIGHToxic chemicals improperly stored or labeledContamination or poisoning risk
4HIGHEmployee not reporting symptoms of illnessDirect outbreak risk
5HIGHInadequate and improper handwashingPrimary contamination pathway
6HIGHFood in poor condition, mislabeled, or adulteratedSpoilage and contamination risk
7HIGHTime as public health control not properly usedTemperature danger zone exposure
8HIGHPerson in charge not present or not performing dutiesManagement failure multiplier

The parasite destruction failure is especially significant at a restaurant serving sushi and Lao-Thai cuisine that includes raw fish preparations. Federal food code requires that fish intended to be served raw or undercooked be frozen at specific temperatures for specific durations to kill parasites. Without documentation that this process was completed, there is no way to confirm the fish served to customers was safe.

Inspectors also cited the restaurant for food not cooked to required minimum temperatures. Salmonella in poultry requires an internal temperature of at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit. When that threshold is not reached, the pathogen survives.

Toxic chemicals were found improperly stored or labeled. At a restaurant where cross-contamination is already a documented concern, chemicals stored near food preparation areas create a separate and acute poisoning risk that has nothing to do with bacteria or parasites.

Two separate handwashing violations were cited: employees not washing hands adequately, and employees using improper technique when they did wash. Both were flagged as high-severity. The distinction matters because a restaurant can claim employees wash their hands while still failing to remove pathogens if the technique is wrong.

The inspector also found that no person in charge was present or performing supervisory duties. Inspectors also cited time as a public health control not being properly used, meaning food was held in the temperature danger zone, between 41 and 135 degrees Fahrenheit, without adequate time tracking to ensure it was discarded before becoming hazardous.

What These Violations Mean

The parasite destruction failure is the violation most directly tied to the restaurant's menu. Sushi restaurants are permitted to serve raw fish, but only if they follow strict freezing protocols that kill parasites such as Anisakis, which can cause severe abdominal pain and vomiting, and tapeworm, which can establish itself in human tissue. When a restaurant cannot demonstrate those protocols were followed, every raw fish dish served becomes a documented risk.

The employee illness reporting failure is a different category of danger. Food workers who do not report symptoms of illness, particularly vomiting or diarrhea, are the leading cause of multi-victim norovirus outbreaks. A single infected employee handling food without reporting symptoms can expose every customer served during that shift.

The absence of a person in charge is not a paperwork violation. CDC data cited in the inspection record links the absence of active managerial control to three times as many critical violations at a given facility. Every other violation on this list, the undercooking, the handwashing failures, the chemical storage, becomes more likely when no one is accountable for the floor.

Time-as-a-public-health-control failures are particularly difficult for customers to detect. Food that has spent too long in the temperature danger zone looks and smells normal. Bacterial growth, including Salmonella and Staphylococcus aureus, is invisible until someone gets sick.

The Longer Record

Sticky Rice Lao Thai & Sushi: Inspection History

May 13, 2026 Nine high-severity violations, three intermediate. Restaurant remained open.
May 16, 2025 Zero high-severity violations, zero intermediate. Clean inspection.
June 18, 2024 Three separate inspections in one day: 5 high violations in the most serious visit, 2 high in a follow-up, 1 high in a third.
May 22, 2024 Emergency closure for roach activity. Six high-severity violations documented.
May 24, 2024 Reopened after closure. Zero high-severity violations at that visit.
March 7, 2024 Three high-severity violations, three intermediate.

The restaurant has 26 inspections on record and 254 total violations across its history. It was emergency-closed once before, in May 2024, after inspectors found roach activity. It reopened two days later.

What followed that closure was a period of improvement. A clean inspection in May 2025 showed zero high-severity violations. That record makes May 2026's nine-violation inspection harder to explain as an isolated bad day.

The pattern across 2024 is the most instructive part of the record. The restaurant was cited in March 2024, closed in May 2024, inspected three times in a single day in June 2024, and then produced a clean inspection a year later. The May 2026 inspection now sits at the other end of that clean year.

In total, the restaurant has accumulated 254 violations across 26 inspections, an average of nearly 10 violations per visit over its full history. The May 2026 inspection, with 12 total violations including nine at the high-severity level, is consistent with that average, not an outlier.

The restaurant was not closed after the May 13, 2026 inspection. It remained open.