, FL. A convenience store operating under an active stop-use order tied to an unapproved septic system failed its fourth state inspection in two months, with inspectors finding the same sewage problem still unresolved and zero violations corrected on the day of the visit.
State inspectors with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services visited Stop N Go Mlk on September 22, 2026, for a re-inspection tied to the store's failure to renew its food permit. What they found went beyond paperwork.
What Inspectors Found
The inspector's notes on the septic issue are direct: "The septic system is not approved by the DOH. Stop-use for all/processing food service remains in effect." That stop-use order was already in place before inspectors arrived. It remained in place when they left.
Inspectors also cited a plumbing problem at the warewashing station. The notation reads: "Warewashing area: No air gap beneath the 3 compartment sink." An air gap is the physical separation between a water supply line and a potential source of contamination. Without one, wastewater from the sink drain can back-siphon into the clean water supply.
The store was also cited, again, for lacking written procedures for employees to follow when a customer or worker has a vomiting or diarrhea incident. That violation is marked repeat.
None of the four violations cited on September 22 were corrected on site.
The Longer Record
September's inspection was not the first, second, or even third time state inspectors had flagged serious problems at this location. The inspection history at Stop N Go Mlk shows a facility that has been under state scrutiny continuously since late July 2026.
On July 29, 2026, inspectors arrived and documented 18 violations during a visit categorized as "Operating Without a Valid Food Permit." That single inspection, with 18 findings, triggered the chain of re-inspections that followed.
Two weeks later, on August 14, inspectors returned and found 4 violations, including 1 repeat. Another two weeks after that, on August 28, a third visit turned up 7 violations and another repeat citation. Each of those visits was also classified as a failure to renew the food permit, with a re-inspection required.
By September 22, the store had accumulated at least 33 violations across four inspections in less than two months. The septic system, the most serious infrastructure problem in the record, was present and unresolved across multiple visits.
What These Violations Mean
The sewage findings at Stop N Go Mlk are not paperwork problems. An unapproved septic system means the facility's waste disposal has not been cleared by the Florida Department of Health. In a food retail environment, that matters because sewage contamination is a direct route to foodborne illness, and an unapproved system offers no verified safeguard against that contamination reaching food prep surfaces, equipment, or the food supply itself.
The missing air gap at the three-compartment sink compounds that concern. A three-compartment sink is where food service equipment gets washed, rinsed, and sanitized. Without an air gap separating the drain from the water supply, back-pressure or back-siphonage can pull contaminated water back into the clean supply line. The inspector flagged this as a priority-level violation, meaning it carries a direct public health risk.
The repeat citation for lacking written vomiting and diarrhea response procedures may sound administrative, but it is not. When an employee or customer has a gastrointestinal incident in a food retail space, the surfaces, equipment, and products in the area can be contaminated with norovirus or other pathogens. Written procedures exist to ensure employees know what to clean, how to clean it, and when to exclude themselves from food handling. Stop N Go Mlk has been cited for not having those procedures in writing on at least two separate inspection visits.
The permit renewal failure is a separate thread entirely. Operating without a valid food permit means the state has not verified the facility currently meets baseline safety standards. Every inspection since July 29 has been conducted under that flag.
Unresolved
As of the September 22 inspection, the stop-use order tied to the unapproved septic system remained in effect. The inspector's notes confirm it: "Stop-use for all/processing food service remains in effect."
Zero of the four violations cited that day were corrected while the inspector was on site.
The facility's food permit renewal, the issue that triggered every re-inspection since mid-August, was still listed as unresolved at the time of the visit. State records show the store has now been inspected four times in 55 days, and the most serious infrastructure problem documented on the first of those visits is the same one documented on the last.
