PORT ORANGE, FL. A state inspector walked into Takara Steakhouse and Sushi on South Williamson Boulevard on June 3 and documented food from an unapproved or unknown source, a finding that means some of what customers ate that day had never been inspected by federal or state food safety authorities.
That was one of ten high-severity violations cited during the visit. The restaurant was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The full violation list reads as a near-complete breakdown of the basic systems a sushi restaurant depends on to keep customers safe. Beyond the unapproved food sourcing, inspectors cited employees not reporting illness symptoms and no written employee health policy, meaning there was no documented protocol requiring sick workers to stay away from food.
Inspectors also found inadequate handwashing and improper handwashing technique, two separate citations. At a restaurant serving raw fish and shellfish, those two violations together represent a direct route from a worker's hands to a customer's plate.
The shell stock identification violation adds another layer. Shellfish at Takara, including any oysters, clams or mussels served raw or lightly cooked, lacked adequate traceability records. Toxic chemicals were also found improperly stored or labeled, and food contact surfaces were not properly cleaned or sanitized. Three intermediate violations accompanied the ten high-severity findings: improper sanitizing solution, improper wiping cloth use, and inadequate toilet facilities.
What These Violations Mean
The combination of no employee health policy and employees not reporting illness symptoms is the documented recipe for a multi-victim outbreak. Norovirus, the most common cause of foodborne illness in the United States, spreads almost entirely through infected food workers who either do not know they are required to report symptoms or choose not to. A written health policy is the minimum structural safeguard against that. Takara did not have one on June 3.
The food from unapproved source violation carries a different kind of risk. When food bypasses USDA or FDA-approved supply chains, there is no paper trail. If a customer gets sick from Listeria or Salmonella, investigators cannot trace the contaminated ingredient back to its origin. At a restaurant serving raw fish, where the margin for error is already narrow, that traceability gap is significant.
The consumer advisory violation matters specifically at a sushi restaurant. Pregnant women, elderly diners, and people with compromised immune systems are at elevated risk from raw or undercooked fish and shellfish. Without a posted advisory, those customers have no way of knowing the menu items they are ordering carry that risk.
The sanitizer failure compounds everything else. Improper sanitizer concentration means pathogens can survive on cutting boards, prep surfaces, and sushi prep equipment even after a cleaning attempt. Paired with improperly used wiping cloths, which can spread bacteria across multiple surfaces rather than removing it, the sanitation picture at Takara on June 3 was not one of isolated lapses.
The Longer Record
The June 3, 2026 inspection was not an aberration. State records show Takara has logged 224 total violations across 18 inspections on record, a figure that places this week's findings inside a pattern that extends back years.
The most recent prior inspections reinforce that pattern. On October 30, 2025, inspectors cited 8 high-severity and 4 intermediate violations. On November 18, 2024, the count was 11 high-severity and 3 intermediate violations. On June 2, 2025, the day before a callback inspection, inspectors found 9 high-severity violations and 3 intermediate ones. The June 3, 2025 follow-up brought that count down to 3 high and 2 intermediate, but the improvement was temporary. By October 2025, the high-severity count had climbed back to 8.
This week's 10 high-severity violations are the second-highest single-inspection count in the recent record, trailing only the November 2024 visit.
Takara has never been emergency-closed in its inspection history. Every visit, including the ones with 9, 10, and 11 high-severity violations, ended with the restaurant remaining open. The June 3, 2026 inspection was no different.
Open for Business
State inspectors documented ten high-severity violations at Takara Steakhouse and Sushi on June 3, 2026, including food from an unknown source, no illness reporting system for employees, two separate handwashing failures, and shellfish with no traceability records.
When the inspection was complete, the restaurant stayed open.