FORT MYERS, FL. State inspectors walked into TAP 42 on South Cleveland Avenue on September 18, 2026, and found food from unapproved or unknown sources being served to customers, a violation that means there is no way to trace where that food came from if someone gets sick.
That was one of seven high-severity violations documented in a single visit. The restaurant was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The parasite-destruction failure is among the most specific concerns in the record. When a restaurant serves fish or pork without following proper freezing or cooking protocols, parasites including Anisakis in fish and Trichinella in pork can survive to reach a customer's plate.
The inspector also cited employees for not reporting symptoms of illness, a separate and distinct failure from the handwashing violations. That means the mechanism for keeping a sick worker away from food preparation was not functioning.
No person in charge was present or performing duties during the inspection. The food was coming from sources the state could not verify. The handwashing facilities were inadequate, and even where handwashing was attempted, the technique was cited as improper.
Two intermediate violations rounded out the findings: multi-use utensils not properly cleaned, and toilet facilities that were inadequate or improperly maintained.
What These Violations Mean
Food from unapproved or unknown sources is not a paperwork problem. When food bypasses USDA or FDA inspection channels, there is no traceability if a customer becomes ill. Investigators responding to a foodborne illness outbreak need to be able to trace contaminated product back through the supply chain. Food from an unknown source cuts that chain entirely.
The failure to follow parasite-destruction procedures compounds the sourcing problem. Proper freezing at specific temperatures for specific durations, or thorough cooking, is what kills Anisakis larvae in raw or undercooked fish. Without documentation that those procedures were followed, there is no way to confirm customers were protected.
The combination of inadequate handwashing facilities and improper handwashing technique documented at TAP 42 on September 18 means that even employees who intended to wash their hands may not have been able to do so effectively. Studies show that improper technique leaves pathogens on hands even when a washing attempt is made.
The illness-reporting failure is an outbreak enabler in a direct sense. Norovirus, the leading cause of foodborne illness outbreaks in restaurant settings, spreads most efficiently when a symptomatic worker continues to handle food. A system that does not require employees to report symptoms removes the primary barrier between a sick worker and a customer's meal.
The Longer Record
The September 18 inspection was not the first time TAP 42 Fort Myers accumulated serious violations in a single visit. State records show eight inspections on file, with 36 total violations across that history.
The pattern is not a single bad day. On June 4, 2025, inspectors cited the restaurant for five high-severity violations and one intermediate violation. Inspectors returned the following day, June 5, and found zero violations. On January 16, 2026, inspectors documented six high-severity violations and three intermediate violations. The September 18, 2026 inspection, with seven high-severity violations, is the highest single-visit total in the facility's recorded history.
Three days after the September 18 inspection, on September 21, inspectors returned and found one high-severity violation. The cycle of serious findings followed by cleaner follow-up visits has repeated across at least three separate inspection periods.
The restaurant has never been emergency-closed. In the 15 months between May 2025 and September 2026, it accumulated violations in the highest-severity category during four separate inspection visits.
Still Open
State inspectors documented seven high-severity violations at TAP 42 Fort Myers on September 18, 2026, including food from a source the state could not verify, a failure to destroy parasites in food being served to customers, employees not reporting illness symptoms, and no person in charge on the premises.
The restaurant remained open.
