MIAMI BEACH, FL. Food at Sumak on 71st Street was not cooked to the required minimum temperature during a May 13 inspection, a violation that means pathogens including Salmonella can survive in the finished dish and reach a customer's plate.
That finding was one of nine high-severity violations state inspectors documented that day. The restaurant was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The inspection also found toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled, a violation that carries the risk of acute poisoning if a chemical contaminates food or is mistaken for a food-safe product. Food contact surfaces were not properly cleaned or sanitized, meaning surfaces that touch ingredients and finished dishes were carrying residual contamination from prior use.
Three separate handwashing violations were cited in a single visit. Inspectors found inadequate handwashing by food employees, improper hand and arm washing technique, and inadequate handwashing facilities. All three were flagged at the same time.
No person in charge was present or performing duties during the inspection. There was also no written employee health policy on record, meaning there is no formal mechanism to keep sick workers out of the kitchen. Inspectors noted no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, which means customers were not informed that certain items on the menu carry elevated risk.
The four intermediate violations included improper sewage or wastewater disposal, single-use items being reused, inadequate ventilation and lighting, and improper waste disposal.
What These Violations Mean
The undercooked food violation is the most direct path to illness in this inspection record. Salmonella in poultry survives below 165 degrees Fahrenheit, and other pathogens including E. coli and Campylobacter behave similarly. A customer who ordered a dish that did not reach the required internal temperature had no way to know that.
The three handwashing violations compound the cooking failure. Improper technique leaves pathogens on hands even when an employee makes an attempt to wash. When the facility itself lacks adequate handwashing infrastructure, proper hygiene becomes structurally impossible, not just a matter of individual behavior. The combination of all three in one visit at Sumak points to a system that is not functioning at the most basic level of food safety.
The absence of an employee health policy is a distinct category of risk. Without a written policy, there is no documented requirement for workers to report symptoms or stay home when ill. Norovirus, which accounts for roughly 20 million cases of foodborne illness in the United States annually, spreads through exactly this pathway.
The improperly stored or labeled toxic chemicals create a separate and acute hazard. A chemical stored near food or mislabeled as a food-safe product can cause poisoning that presents quickly and severely. That violation existed in the same kitchen where food was being prepared and served.
The Longer Record
The May 2026 inspection was not an anomaly. State records show Sumak has been inspected 21 times, accumulating 141 total violations. The facility has never been emergency-closed.
High-severity violations have appeared in every single inspection on record going back to at least 2021. The April 2025 inspection produced six high-severity violations and one intermediate. The December 2024 inspection produced five high-severity violations. The February 2024 inspection produced four. In no documented inspection did the facility come in without at least one high-severity citation.
The pattern in the categories is consistent. Handwashing failures, management presence, and food safety fundamentals appear repeatedly across multiple years. The May 2026 total of nine high-severity violations is the highest single-visit count in the recent record, but it sits at the top of a curve that has never dipped to zero.
The facility has logged zero emergency closures across 21 inspections and 141 violations.
The Longer Record in Context
For a restaurant that has been inspected more than two dozen times, the accumulation of 141 violations without a single closure is the defining fact of this record. The most recent inspection is also the worst in documented history by violation count.
Sumak remained open after inspectors left on May 13, 2026, with nine high-severity violations on the books and food on the menu that had not been cooked to the required minimum temperature.