TAMPA, FL. Back in March 2026, state inspectors walked into a Tampa convenience store and found grain insects crawling inside three bags of rice sitting on the retail shelf, triggering a stop sale order on the spot and setting the tone for one of the more sprawling grocery inspections documented in Hillsborough County that month.
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services inspected Stop & Save, a convenience store with limited food service, on March 25, 2026. By the time inspectors finished, they had issued 40 separate stop sale orders, documented 14 violations including 2 priority violations and 1 repeat violation, and ordered the voluntary disposal of multiple product lines spanning kratom, hemp extract, and contaminated food.
What Inspectors Found
The rice finding was documented as a priority violation. The inspector's notes read: "Grain insects observed in three bags of rice in retail aisle." All three bags were voluntarily discarded and a stop sale order was issued.
In the walk-in cooler, raw shell eggs were stored directly above beverages. The inspector noted the eggs were relocated to the bottom shelf during the visit, but the violation was still recorded as a priority citation.
The kratom section of the retail floor generated some of the most detailed inspector notes in the report. Multiple products were found missing required label elements under Florida's kratom regulations, including the concentration of 7-Hydroxymitragynine, known as 7-OH, expressed in parts per million on a dry weight basis. Products from a company identified as Easie GRP were flagged because the address on the label belonged to a registered agent and the company did not hold a valid food permit. The inspector noted that HEAT and OPIA brand products were relabeled on site. The remaining products were voluntarily discarded.
Hemp extract products on the retail floor drew four separate violation citations. Inspectors found products not in child-resistant packaging, products missing required label information including batch numbers, expiration dates, cannabinoid content per serving, and a scannable barcode linked to a certificate of analysis. Some products had already passed their expiration dates. Others were designed with labels in the shape of animals, humans, or cartoons, which Florida law prohibits for hemp products because of the risk of appeal to children. All hemp extract products were voluntarily discarded.
The Repeat Violation
One violation carried a repeat designation, meaning inspectors had documented the same problem at a prior inspection. The three-compartment sink in the warewashing area had a direct connection between the sewage system and the drain, with no air gap. The inspector noted: "There is a direct connection between the sewage system and the three compartment sink (no air gap)." The store had been cited for this before. It was not corrected on site.
That finding sits alongside a separate citation for a handwashing sign posted above the three-compartment sink rather than above a designated handwashing sink. The sign was removed during the inspection.
Also in the retail area, boiled peanut scoops on the customer self-service counter were sitting in stagnant water measuring 71 degrees Fahrenheit. The scoops were moved to a dry holder during the inspection.
What These Violations Mean
Grain insects in retail rice bags are not a minor housekeeping issue. Insect infestation in dry goods is classified as adulteration under Florida food law, meaning the product is legally unfit for sale regardless of whether a customer can see the contamination. Once insects establish in dry goods, they spread to adjacent products. The fact that three bags were affected suggests the infestation was not isolated to a single damaged package.
The kratom labeling violations carry a specific public health dimension. Florida's emergency rule on kratom requires that the concentration of 7-Hydroxymitragynine be stated on the label because 7-OH is the compound most associated with kratom's potency and its potential for adverse effects. A product sold without that information gives a buyer no way to assess what they are actually consuming. Products from a manufacturer without a valid food permit add a traceability problem: if someone is harmed, there is no regulatory record linking the product to a licensed facility.
Hemp extract products shaped like animals or cartoons, or sold without child-resistant packaging, present a direct risk of accidental ingestion by children. Florida's rules on hemp extract packaging exist precisely because products that look appealing to children and contain cannabinoids have caused pediatric emergency visits in other states.
The direct sewage connection at the three-compartment sink is a contamination pathway. Without an air gap, a sewage backup can introduce waste water into the same sink used to wash utensils. This violation was documented before and remained unresolved until at least this inspection.
The Longer Record
The March 25, 2026 inspection was triggered because Stop & Save was operating without a valid food permit, which is what brought FDACS inspectors to the store in the first place. The inspection type is listed as "Operating Without a Valid Food Permit, Met Sanitation Inspection," meaning the store was found to be operating and was inspected on the spot.
The repeat designation on the sewage connection violation confirms this was not the store's first encounter with inspectors. That same plumbing deficiency had been documented previously and was still present when inspectors arrived in March.
None of the 14 violations were corrected on site in the formal sense tracked by the inspection record. The data shows zero corrected-on-site resolutions, even though the inspector's notes reflect that some items were relocated or discarded during the visit. The sewage connection, the employee health reporting failure, and the absence of a valid food permit at the time of inspection remained as documented findings when the inspection closed.