, FL. Staff at Sublime Juice Garden could not correctly answer questions about foodborne illnesses or the symptoms of diseases transmissible through food, according to state inspection records from September 3, 2026.
That finding, documented by a Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services inspector, was one of 13 violations cited at the specialty food shop during a routine sanitation inspection. None of the violations were corrected on site.
What Inspectors Found
The inspector's notes on the knowledge gap are direct: "Food employee does not respond correctly to questions relating to foodborne illnesses or symptoms associated with diseases transmissible through food." A separate citation states the person in charge could not demonstrate, in any verifiable way, that employees had been trained to report health information related to diseases transmissible through food.
The shop also had no written procedures for employees to follow in the event of a vomiting or diarrheal incident on the premises. The inspector provided a guidance document at the time of the visit.
Inspectors also found no probe thermometer anywhere on the premises for assessing, receiving, or holding temperature-controlled safety foods. At a juice and specialty food shop where chilled products are sold directly to customers, the absence of any temperature-measuring device means there is no way to verify whether cold foods are being held at safe temperatures.
The Products on the Shelves
Multiple small plastic containers of juice shots inside the reach-in display cooler were missing source and ingredient labeling, according to the inspector's notes. Under Florida law and federal labeling requirements, packaged food sold at retail must identify what is in it and where it came from.
Multiple jar containers of powders on the counters were not labeled with the common name of the food they contained.
Those two findings together mean customers at Sublime Juice Garden were being offered products for purchase with no way to know what ingredients they contained or who produced them.
In the processing area, multiple containers of peeled and opened fruits were stored uncovered inside the freezer. A metal spoon handle was found making direct contact with ice inside a reach-in freezer container, a cross-contamination risk that also went uncorrected.
Staff and Facility Conditions
Food employees in the processing area were not wearing hair restraints while working with exposed foods. One employee was wearing bracelets on the wrist while handling exposed food, a violation of standards designed to prevent physical contamination.
A container of single-service bottles was stored directly on the floor in the back of the facility. A broom and dustpan were found leaning against and touching single-service items on a storage rack.
The door to the only restroom in the facility was not self-closing, a structural requirement for food establishments designed to limit cross-contamination between the restroom and food preparation areas.
What These Violations Mean
The three priority foundation violations related to illness knowledge and written procedures are not paperwork issues. They reflect whether a food business has the basic infrastructure to prevent a sick employee from transmitting illness to customers. When staff cannot correctly answer questions about foodborne illness symptoms, there is no reliable mechanism for identifying a worker who should not be handling food that day.
The absence of written procedures for vomiting and diarrheal events is directly connected to norovirus risk. Norovirus is highly contagious and can survive on surfaces and in food. Without a documented response plan, there is no standard for how quickly contaminated areas are cleaned, what products are discarded, or when an affected employee stops working.
The missing probe thermometer matters because Sublime Juice Garden sells temperature-controlled products, including juice shots stored in a reach-in cooler. Without a thermometer, neither staff nor inspectors can confirm that cold-held foods are being maintained at or below 41 degrees Fahrenheit, the threshold above which bacteria multiply rapidly.
Unlabeled packaged food is a separate concern. If a customer has an allergy or a health condition affected by specific ingredients, a container with no label and no source information provides no protection. It also means that if a product were linked to an illness, investigators would have no traceability information to work from.
The Longer Record
The September 3 inspection is recorded as meeting overall sanitation requirements despite the 13 citations, which reflects the graduated nature of Florida's inspection scoring system. The record available for this facility does not indicate prior inspections on file, making it difficult to assess whether these violations represent a pattern or a first-documented snapshot.
None of the 13 violations were repeat citations, meaning inspectors had not previously flagged the same specific items at this location. That distinction carries limited weight, however, when the violations include foundational gaps, such as no thermometer, no illness training verification, and no written emergency procedures, that are typically expected to be in place from the moment a food establishment opens.
Zero violations were corrected on site during the September 3 visit.
