PALM COAST, FL. A state inspector walked into Sushi 99 at 250 Palm Coast Pkwy NE on August 20, 2026, and found that the restaurant had no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked foods, a requirement that exists specifically to warn pregnant women, elderly diners, and anyone with a compromised immune system that what they are about to eat carries a real risk of serious illness.
At a sushi restaurant, that omission is not a technicality.
The inspector also found that food was not being cooked to its required minimum temperature, that employees were using improper handwashing technique, and that toxic chemicals were improperly stored or labeled somewhere in the facility. Six of the eight violations documented that day were classified as high severity. The restaurant was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The time-as-a-public-health-control violation is particularly relevant at a sushi operation. When a restaurant uses time rather than temperature to keep food safe, it is allowed to leave items like raw fish in the temperature danger zone, between 41 and 135 degrees Fahrenheit, for a limited window before discarding them. That system only works if the restaurant tracks start times, labels food correctly, and discards anything that runs over. The inspector found those controls were not properly in place.
The improperly stored or labeled toxic chemicals violation adds a separate category of risk entirely. In a kitchen where chemicals are not correctly segregated from food or are stored in unlabeled containers, the margin for accidental contamination is narrow.
The intermediate violations added to the picture. Multi-use utensils that are not properly cleaned develop bacterial biofilms that survive standard rinsing. Inadequate ventilation allows grease vapor and combustion byproducts to accumulate in food preparation areas.
What These Violations Mean
The missing consumer advisory is the violation that most directly affects customers who walked in without knowing the risks. At a sushi restaurant, raw and undercooked fish is not an exception on the menu, it is the menu. State code requires that diners be told, in writing, that consuming raw or undercooked seafood carries a risk of foodborne illness. Without that notice, a pregnant woman, a diner on immunosuppressant medication, or an elderly customer has no way to make an informed choice about what they order.
The undercooking violation compounds that risk. Salmonella in poultry survives below 165 degrees Fahrenheit. When food is not brought to its required minimum internal temperature, any pathogen present in the raw product survives into the finished dish.
The absent employee health policy means there is no documented system requiring sick workers to stay home or report symptoms. Norovirus is responsible for roughly 20 million cases of foodborne illness in the United States each year, and direct transmission from an infected food handler to a customer is one of the primary routes. A written policy does not guarantee compliance, but its absence means no standard exists at all.
Improper handwashing technique is distinct from not washing hands. An employee who goes through the motions of handwashing but does not use correct technique, adequate soap, or sufficient time can transfer pathogens from contaminated surfaces to food just as effectively as if they had skipped the sink entirely.
The Longer Record
The August 20 inspection was not an isolated event. State records show Sushi 99 has been inspected 30 times and has accumulated 238 total violations across that history.
The pattern in recent years is consistent. An inspection on August 28, 2024, produced 8 high-severity violations and 3 intermediate ones. An inspection on October 8, 2025, produced 8 high-severity violations and 1 intermediate. The March 2025 inspection documented 7 high-severity violations and 5 intermediate violations. The restaurant has never been emergency-closed.
The inspection on October 9, 2025, the day after that 8-high-violation visit, showed zero high-severity and zero intermediate violations, suggesting the facility can meet standards when it chooses to. The February 2026 inspection returned 4 high-severity violations. The August 20, 2026, inspection brought the count back up to 6.
A follow-up inspection on August 21, 2026, the day after the visit that generated this report, found 1 high-severity violation and 1 intermediate violation remaining. That is an improvement over the day before. It also means that after an inspection documenting six high-priority failures at a restaurant serving raw fish, at least one high-severity violation was still present the next day.
The restaurant remained open throughout.
