FORT LAUDERDALE, FL. Back in December 2025, a state inspector walking through the Starbucks counter inside Target #1163 on found chemicals stored directly beside the handwashing sink, a container of tongs stored beneath a paper towel dispenser, and milk measuring 44 degrees Fahrenheit when checked with a probe thermometer.
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services conducted the inspection on December 5, 2025. Inspectors recorded six total violations, three of them priority-level, and one marked as a repeat of a problem found before.
What Inspectors Found
The chemical storage finding was among the most serious. The inspector noted that containers of poisonous or toxic materials were sitting beside the handwashing sink inside the Starbucks area. Those containers were removed and properly stored during the inspection.
The temperature violation was equally direct. The inspector recorded milk at 44 degrees Fahrenheit, three degrees above the 41-degree maximum required for cold-held time and temperature control safety foods. The milk was removed and placed in proper refrigeration during the inspection.
In the store's backroom, the inspector found two containers of raw shell eggs intended for donation sitting on a shelf above ready-to-eat items. Raw eggs stored above ready-to-eat food is a cross-contamination risk. The eggs were moved to proper storage during the visit.
The repeat violation involved a container holding an in-use tong, stored below the hand washing sink's paper towel dispenser. The inspector's notes state the container was removed during the inspection. This same category of violation had been flagged in a prior inspection.
Two additional basic violations involved soil buildup: one underneath a crate stored on the clean and sanitized drain board in the Starbucks backroom, and another on the handles and outer surfaces of reach-in and freezer coolers in the same area. The inspector also found soil buildup around the soda dispenser nozzle in the retail area. All three surfaces were cleaned and sanitized before the inspector left.
None of the six violations were corrected before the inspection began. All corrections happened on site during the visit.
What These Violations Mean
Storing chemicals near a handwashing sink or food preparation area creates a direct contamination path. Poisonous and toxic materials kept in proximity to surfaces where food is handled, or where employees wash their hands before touching food, can transfer to food contact surfaces, packaging, or the food itself. The inspector's observation at the Target Starbucks was specific: the chemicals were next to the sink, not separated or locked away.
The temperature finding carries a different kind of risk. Milk held at 44 degrees instead of 41 degrees may seem like a small gap, but dairy products in that range are sitting in a zone where bacteria can multiply. The three-degree difference matters more over time: the longer a product stays above the threshold, the faster bacterial growth compounds.
Raw eggs stored above ready-to-eat food is a textbook cross-contamination scenario. Shell eggs can carry Salmonella on their exterior. If a carton leaks or drips onto food stored below, that food absorbs the contamination without any further cooking step to eliminate it. The backroom placement, near donation items, means the eggs may have been sitting in that position for some time before the inspection.
The soil buildup on the drain board and cooler handles is a sanitation failure, not a cosmetic one. A drain board designated as clean and sanitized that carries visible soil underneath a stored crate is no longer functioning as a clean surface. Equipment handles touched repeatedly throughout a shift carry whatever is on them directly to the next surface an employee touches.
The Longer Record
The December 2025 inspection was the 25th recorded at this location, with 98 total violations accumulated across that history. No emergency closures appear in the facility's record.
The three most recent prior inspections told a quieter story. A September 2025 focused inspection found zero violations. A May 2024 inspection found one. An October 2023 focused inspection also found zero. The six violations recorded in December 2025 represented a notable step up from that recent baseline.
The repeat violation is worth noting in that context. A finding marked as repeat means inspectors had previously documented the same problem, specifically the improper storage of an in-use utensil during pauses in food preparation, and found it again. That category of violation does not require a major equipment failure or a sudden change in practice. It requires a consistent habit that the prior citation did not change.
The facility met sanitation inspection requirements in December despite the six violations, meaning the state did not order a closure or a stop sale on any products. The corrections made during the inspection addressed each cited item.
What the record does not resolve is whether the repeat utensil violation will appear again on the next inspection.
