TAMPA, FL. Pollos Rocoto on Hanley Road drew seven high-severity violations during a single inspection last week, including food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, food found in poor condition, and no written employee health policy in place — one of the most troubling single-facility tallies in Tampa this week.
The Pollos Rocoto inspection also documented improper handwashing technique, food contact surfaces that were not properly cleaned or sanitized, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and no person in charge present or performing duties. The lone intermediate violation involved improperly maintained toilet facilities.
The Worst of the Week
Rice and Spice on Sheldon Road came in second with six high-severity violations, including no employee health policy, an employee not reporting symptoms of illness, inadequate handwashing facilities, improper handwashing technique, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
Far East Restaurant on East 10th Avenue drew five high-severity violations. Among the most serious: food from an unapproved or unknown source, a finding that means inspectors could not confirm the restaurant's ingredients had passed through any USDA or FDA inspection point. Employees were also cited for not reporting symptoms of illness, inadequate handwashing facilities, improper technique, and no consumer advisory.
El Manjar Sabor Latino on North Armenia Avenue also logged five high-severity violations, including food from an unapproved or unknown source and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled near food. Improper handwashing technique and unclean food contact surfaces rounded out the list.
Food+Beer on West Hillsborough Avenue drew five high-severity violations, including inadequate shell stock identification records, meaning inspectors could not trace where the restaurant's shellfish came from. The facility also had no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods and improperly cleaned food contact surfaces.
The Emergency Closure and the Rest of the List
On May 26, state inspectors ordered Zagora Café at 3000 East Busch Boulevard emergency-closed after documenting rodent activity at the site. No reopening status was available in the inspection record as of the close of the reporting week.
Pepper's Island Restaurant on East 4th Avenue had four high-severity violations and four intermediate violations, the highest combined intermediate count of the week. The high-severity findings included inadequate shell stock identification records, toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled, no employee health policy, and food in poor condition. Intermediate violations included improper sewage or wastewater disposal and inadequate ventilation and lighting.
Checkers #280 on East Broadway was cited for four high-severity violations: an employee not reporting symptoms of illness, inadequate shell stock identification records, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled. Intermediate violations included single-use items being improperly reused.
3 Guys Caribbean Restaurant on East Hillsborough Avenue drew four high-severity violations including improper handwashing technique, inadequate shell stock identification records, toxic chemicals improperly stored, and no employee health policy.
Yummy House China Bistro on East Hillsborough Avenue was cited for four high-severity violations: no employee health policy, improper handwashing technique, inadequate shell stock identification records, and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized.
Roast Deli and Social Bar on East 7th Avenue had four high-severity violations including no person in charge present, inadequate handwashing facilities, improper handwashing technique, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled.
Fresh Bites on Countryway Boulevard drew four high-severity violations including no person in charge, food contaminated by chemical, physical, or biological hazards, inadequate shell stock identification records, and no consumer advisory.
Temak House Sushi Fusion on West Linebaugh Avenue was cited for four high-severity violations, notably two separate chemical storage findings: toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled, and toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used. The sushi restaurant also had no employee health policy and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked items, a striking gap at an establishment where raw fish is central to the menu.
511 Franklin on North Franklin Street and Ybor Cigars Plus on East 7th Avenue each drew three high-severity violations. 511 Franklin's findings included an employee not reporting symptoms of illness and inadequate shell stock records. Ybor Cigars Plus was cited for no employee health policy, improper handwashing technique, and no consumer advisory.
Casa Santo Stefano on North 22nd Street had no high-severity violations, drawing only a single intermediate citation for equipment in poor repair.
What These Violations Mean
The single most dangerous pattern in this week's inspections is the near-universal breakdown in handwashing and illness reporting. At least nine of the 15 facilities were cited for improper handwashing technique, inadequate handwashing facilities, or both. At Pollos Rocoto, Rice and Spice, Far East Restaurant, El Manjar Sabor Latino, and several others, inspectors found that employees were either washing hands incorrectly or lacked the physical infrastructure to do so properly. These are not paperwork failures. Improper handwashing technique leaves active pathogens on hands even when a worker goes through the motions of washing, and without adequate sinks stocked with soap and water, the attempt cannot be made at all.
Six facilities, including Far East Restaurant, El Manjar Sabor Latino, Rice and Spice, Checkers #280, 511 Franklin, and Food+Beer, were flagged because employees were not reporting symptoms of illness. Norovirus, which causes the majority of foodborne illness outbreaks in restaurant settings, spreads most efficiently through a single sick worker who continues preparing food. A written health policy requiring workers to stay home when symptomatic is the primary institutional control against that chain of transmission.
Two facilities, Far East Restaurant and El Manjar Sabor Latino, were cited for sourcing food from unapproved or unknown origins. When food bypasses USDA and FDA inspection, there is no traceability chain. If a customer becomes ill, investigators cannot identify the contaminated batch, cannot issue a recall, and cannot determine how many other customers were exposed.
The dual chemical storage violations at Temak House Sushi Fusion are worth particular attention. Improper chemical storage near food creates a direct contamination pathway, and mislabeled or improperly identified toxic substances mean workers may not recognize a hazard before it reaches a plate.
The Longer Record
Yummy House China Bistro has 47 prior inspections on record, the longest history of any facility cited this week, and still drew four high-severity violations including handwashing failures and unclean food contact surfaces. Forty-seven inspections is not a short track record. The same is true at Far East Restaurant and El Manjar Sabor Latino, each with 29 prior inspections and five high-severity violations this week, including the food-from-unapproved-sources finding.
Roast Deli and Social Bar has 34 prior inspections and drew four high-severity violations this week, including no person in charge present. Checkers #280 has 28 prior inspections and still drew chemical storage and illness-reporting failures. Temak House Sushi Fusion has 26 prior inspections on record and produced two separate toxic-substance violations at a restaurant where raw fish is served daily.
At the newer end of the list, Food+Beer has only two prior inspections on record and already accumulated five high-severity violations, including shellfish traceability failures and no consumer advisory for raw foods. 511 Franklin has six prior inspections and drew three high-severity citations. Neither establishment has had time to build a long record of repeat failures, but both are starting with the same categories of violations seen at restaurants with decades of inspections behind them.
Pepper's Island Restaurant has seven prior inspections and drew the week's most intermediate violations alongside four high-severity findings, including improper sewage disposal. That particular violation, which creates a fecal contamination risk throughout a kitchen, appeared in only one facility's record this week, and it was not a new location still working out the details of opening.