ORLANDO, FL. A sushi restaurant on International Drive was cited for failing to cook food to required minimum temperatures on August 18, a violation that state health data links directly to pathogen survival, and inspectors left the restaurant open.
Temak House Sushi Fusion at 5417 International Dr. collected eight high-severity violations and two intermediate violations during that single inspection. The facility was not emergency-closed.
What Inspectors Found
The undercooking violation sits at the top of the list for a reason. At a sushi fusion restaurant, where raw and lightly cooked proteins move through the kitchen side by side, food that doesn't reach required minimum temperatures can carry live Salmonella, Campylobacter, or E. coli to a customer's plate.
Three of the eight high-severity violations on August 18 centered on employee illness. Inspectors cited the restaurant for having no written employee health policy, for employees not reporting illness symptoms, and for no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked foods. That last one matters specifically at a sushi restaurant, where raw fish is a menu staple, not an exception.
The shellfish traceability violation adds another layer. Without proper shell stock identification and records, there is no paper trail if a customer becomes ill after eating oysters or clams. Health investigators need those records to trace a contaminated batch back to its source.
Food contact surfaces were also cited as not properly cleaned or sanitized, and inspectors documented food in poor condition, mislabeled, or adulterated. No person in charge was present or performing duties at the time of the inspection.
What These Violations Mean
The combination of no employee health policy and employees not reporting illness symptoms is the specific pairing that public health officials identify as the most direct route to a multi-victim outbreak. Norovirus, which causes roughly 20 million illnesses in the United States each year, spreads most efficiently when a sick food worker handles food without restriction. A written policy is the mechanism that stops that worker from coming in, or sends them home. Temak House had neither the policy nor the reporting practice on August 18.
The undercooking violation compounds that risk. A restaurant serving both raw fish and cooked proteins, without verified cooking temperatures, gives pathogens two separate paths to a customer. Salmonella in poultry survives below 165 degrees Fahrenheit. If the kitchen isn't hitting minimum temperatures, that survival is not theoretical.
The absence of a consumer advisory for raw and undercooked foods is a specific harm to a specific population. Elderly diners, pregnant women, young children, and anyone with a compromised immune system depend on that posted notice to make an informed choice about what they order. Without it, they have no warning.
Improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, the eighth high-severity citation, close the loop. Cutting boards, prep surfaces, and utensils that move between raw and cooked food without proper sanitation are a documented primary vehicle for bacterial transfer. At a sushi fusion restaurant handling both raw fish and cooked items, that failure touches nearly every dish.
The Longer Record
Temak House Sushi Fusion: Inspection Pattern
The August 18 inspection did not happen in isolation. State records show Temak House Sushi Fusion has accumulated 304 violations across 41 inspections on record. The restaurant has been emergency-closed once before, on August 19, 2026, the day after this inspection, when inspectors returned and documented roach activity. It reopened two days later.
The pattern across recent inspections is consistent. In September 2025, inspectors found six high-severity violations. In April 2025, four. In November 2025, three. The August 18 count of eight is the highest single-inspection total in that recent run, but it is not a sudden departure from what the record shows.
The restaurant was cleared on August 21, 2026, with zero high-severity violations, after the roach-related closure. The August 18 inspection, with its eight high-severity findings including undercooking and no illness policy, did not trigger a closure.
The restaurant served customers that day.
