TAMPA, FL. La Michoacana Ice Cream 3 on East Fowler Avenue drew eight high-severity violations in a single inspection this week, including food sourced from unapproved or unknown suppliers, no demonstrated allergen awareness among staff, and food not cooked to required minimum temperatures — a combination that state inspectors flagged as presenting multiple simultaneous pathways to serious illness.
The Fowler Avenue shop also lacked a written employee health policy, used improper handwashing technique, had food contact surfaces that were not properly cleaned or sanitized, carried shellfish without adequate traceability records, and offered no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked items. That is eight distinct high-severity failures in one location, on one visit.
The Week's Most Serious Findings
Matching La Michoacana's count was Wha Gwaan Jamaica Jamaica on West Hillsborough Avenue, which also drew eight high-severity citations. Inspectors found no person in charge present or performing duties, no written employee health policy, and at least one employee not reporting symptoms of illness. The facility also lacked adequate handwashing infrastructure, used improper handwashing technique, and had food in poor condition or adulterated, along with unclean food contact surfaces and no consumer advisory for raw items.
The Westin Tampa Bay Aqua was the week's only emergency closure. State inspectors ordered Westin Tampa Bay Aqua on Courtney Campbell Causeway shut on May 7 after finding no warewashing facilities on site. The hotel restaurant also drew citations for an employee not reporting illness symptoms and food in poor condition or adulterated, along with an intermediate violation for improper sanitizing procedures.
Pal Campo Restaurant on Anderson Road drew six high-severity violations, including food from unapproved or unknown sources and inadequate shellfish traceability records alongside the absent person-in-charge and illness-reporting failures. Multi-use utensils were not properly cleaned and wiping cloths were improperly used.
Le Peep Tampa LLC on West Hillsborough Avenue also produced six high-severity citations. Inspectors found improper sewage or wastewater disposal, an intermediate violation that underscores the breadth of the problems at the breakfast and brunch chain location. The facility lacked a consumer advisory, had improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, inadequate shellfish records, and an employee not reporting illness.
Kang's Garden on West Linebaugh Avenue rounded out the six-violation tier with a citation for food contaminated by chemical, physical, or biological hazards, a finding that goes beyond routine temperature or sourcing failures. Inspectors also noted no person in charge, improper handwashing, inadequate shellfish records, and unclean food contact surfaces.
Chemical Hazards and a Pattern of Missing Oversight
Toxic chemical storage problems surfaced at three separate facilities this week. Minano Ramen on Sheldon Road was cited for improperly stored or labeled toxic chemicals, alongside improper sewage disposal, inadequate toilet facilities, and unclean multi-use utensils. Pei Wei Fresh Kitchen on North Dale Mabry Highway drew two separate toxic substance citations, one for improperly stored or labeled chemicals and a second for toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used, along with an improper sewage finding. Woods Bar and Grille on Sheldon Road was also cited for improperly stored or labeled chemicals, combined with no employee health policy, unclean food contact surfaces, and no consumer advisory.
The absent-person-in-charge violation appeared at five facilities this week: Wha Gwaan Jamaica Jamaica, Pal Campo Restaurant, Le Peep Tampa, Kang's Garden, and Boozy Pig on West Cypress Street. That concentration matters. CDC data cited in inspectors' records shows facilities without active managerial control produce three times as many critical violations as those with a designated, engaged manager on the floor.
Boozy Pig's five high-severity citations also included food from unapproved sources, food in poor condition or adulterated, and no consumer advisory, with no intermediate violations buffering the count.
Take 5 Cafe on West Martin Luther King Boulevard drew five high-severity citations including food in poor condition and inadequate shellfish traceability records, with equipment in poor repair flagged as an intermediate concern. China Dragon on Gunn Highway was cited for improper use of time as a public health control, a violation that means food was allowed to remain in the bacterial growth temperature range without proper documentation of when that window began or ended.
Charley's Cheesesteaks Wings on West Hillsborough Avenue drew a citation for no approved potable water supply, one of the more acute findings of the week. Non-potable water used in food preparation can carry E. coli, Cryptosporidium, and Legionella. Compass Group USA Inc on Henderson Road and Tropical Smoothie Cafe on West Hillsborough Avenue each drew two high-severity violations, with Tropical Smoothie also flagged for improper sewage disposal.
What These Violations Mean
The food-from-unapproved-sources citation, documented at La Michoacana Ice Cream 3, Pal Campo Restaurant, and Boozy Pig, is not a paperwork problem. When food bypasses USDA or FDA inspection channels, there is no reliable chain of custody if someone becomes ill. Listeria, Salmonella, and E. coli outbreaks traced to uninspected suppliers can take weeks to identify because investigators have no records to follow.
Shellfish traceability failures, found this week at La Michoacana, Pal Campo, Le Peep Tampa, Kang's Garden, Minano Ramen, and Take 5 Cafe, carry a specific added risk. Oysters, clams, and mussels are frequently consumed raw or lightly cooked, and they filter contaminants from surrounding water. Without harvest tags and dealer records, there is no way to trace a Vibrio or hepatitis A outbreak back to its source bed.
The illness-reporting failures at Wha Gwaan Jamaica Jamaica, Westin Tampa Bay Aqua, Pal Campo, Le Peep Tampa, Kang's Garden, Pei Wei Fresh Kitchen, Take 5 Cafe, Boozy Pig, and China Dragon represent a direct transmission risk. A food worker with Norovirus who does not report symptoms and is not sent home can contaminate hundreds of meals in a single shift. This is not a theoretical risk: the CDC identifies symptomatic food workers as the leading cause of multi-victim restaurant outbreaks.
The dual toxic substance citations at Pei Wei Fresh Kitchen warrant particular attention. Chemicals stored near or above food, or in unlabeled containers, can cause acute poisoning through direct contamination. When two separate toxic substance violations appear in one inspection, it indicates the problem is not a single misplaced bottle.
The Longer Record
Wha Gwaan Jamaica Jamaica on West Hillsborough carries 37 prior inspections on record, the longest history of any facility cited this week. Eight high-severity violations at a location with that many prior visits suggests the corrective actions taken after earlier inspections have not held.
Woods Bar and Grille on Sheldon Road has 27 prior inspections, China Dragon on Gunn Highway has 29, and Pei Wei Fresh Kitchen on Dale Mabry has 25. All four drew high-severity violations this week in categories, including handwashing, food contact surface sanitation, and illness reporting, that are documented targets of routine inspections. A facility with two dozen prior inspections that is still being cited for improper handwashing technique is not encountering these standards for the first time.
La Michoacana Ice Cream 3 had only 6 prior inspections on record before this week's visit, and Minano Ramen had 7. Both are relatively new to the inspection record, and both produced five or more high-severity citations. The Westin Tampa Bay Aqua, with 32 prior inspections, had not been emergency-closed before based on available records, making the May 7 no-warewashing closure notable for a property at that inspection volume.
Charley's Cheesesteaks Wings, cited for no approved potable water supply, has 19 prior inspections on record. Whether that specific violation has appeared in earlier visits is not reflected in this week's data.