PINECREST, FL. State inspectors visiting Sumaq Fine Peruvian Cuisine and Bar on August 17, 2026 found food from unapproved or unknown sources being used in a restaurant that markets itself as fine dining, one of nine high-severity violations documented that day at the South Dixie Highway location.
The facility was not emergency-closed.
What Inspectors Found
The nine high-severity violations covered nearly every critical control point in the kitchen. Inspectors cited food in poor condition, food contact surfaces that were not properly cleaned or sanitized, and time as a public health control not being properly used, meaning food was allowed to sit in the temperature danger zone without adequate tracking to ensure it was discarded before becoming hazardous.
Toxic substances were improperly identified, stored, or used. That violation sits alongside the food sourcing citation and the undercooking finding as the three that most directly threatened customers who ate there that day.
Inspectors also cited inadequate shell stock identification records. Sumaq's menu features Peruvian seafood preparations, and shellfish without proper tagging and traceability records cannot be traced to their harvest origin if a customer becomes ill.
The follow-up inspection on August 18 found 3 high-severity violations and 1 intermediate still present.
What These Violations Mean
Food from an unapproved or unknown source means the ingredients bypassed USDA and FDA inspection entirely. If a customer became ill after eating at Sumaq on August 17, investigators would have no supply chain to trace. There is no harvest record, no distributor log, no point of origin.
The undercooking violation compounds that risk. Salmonella in poultry survives below 165 degrees Fahrenheit. At a restaurant where the food's origin is already unknown and cooking temperatures are not being met, the two violations together create a direct pathway to serious illness.
The employee illness reporting failures are a separate and acute problem. Sumaq had neither an adequate written health policy nor employees who were reporting symptoms of illness. Food workers who come in sick while handling raw proteins and seafood are the leading cause of multi-victim Norovirus outbreaks. The absence of a written policy means there is no documented standard for any employee to follow or any manager to enforce.
The toxic substance citation means chemicals, cleaners, or other hazardous materials were not properly identified, stored, or kept separate from food preparation areas. That is not a paperwork violation. It is a direct contamination risk to every plate that left the kitchen.
The Longer Record
The August 17 inspection was not an anomaly. State records show Sumaq has been inspected 39 times and has accumulated 404 total violations across its history, with zero emergency closures.
The pattern of high-severity violations runs back continuously through the available record. The July 31, 2025 inspection found 6 high-severity and 4 intermediate violations. The March 13, 2025 inspection found 6 high-severity and 2 intermediate violations. The August 1, 2025 inspection found 4 high-severity violations. Every inspection in the past two years has included at least one high-severity citation.
The August 17, 2026 inspection, with 9 high-severity violations, was the worst single-day total in the recent record. It came one day before a follow-up inspection that still found 3 high-severity violations outstanding.
Across 39 inspections and 404 total violations, Sumaq has never been emergency-closed.
The Longer Pattern
The food sourcing violation is particularly significant given the history. Inadequate shell stock records appeared in the August 17 findings at a restaurant where seafood is central to the menu and where inspectors have returned repeatedly over multiple years.
The December 2024 inspection found 4 high-severity violations. The October 2025 inspection found 3. The April 2026 inspection found 1. Then August 17, 2026 brought 9.
The violations are not isolated incidents separated by long stretches of clean inspections. They are a continuous thread running through nearly every visit inspectors have made to the South Dixie Highway address.
On August 17, 2026, a state inspector documented nine high-severity violations at Sumaq Fine Peruvian Cuisine and Bar in Pinecrest, including food from unknown sources, toxic substances improperly handled, undercooking, and no employee illness reporting system. The restaurant served customers that evening.
