ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, FL. Back in April 2026, a state inspector walked into Token Ramen & Kung Fu Tea on S SR 434 and found food being served from unapproved or unknown sources, meaning customers had no way to know whether what they were eating had ever passed a USDA or FDA safety check. That was one of eight high-severity violations documented on April 13. The restaurant was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The inspector also cited the restaurant for inadequate shell stock identification and records. Shellfish, including oysters and clams, are among the highest-risk foods a kitchen handles, particularly when served raw or lightly cooked. Without proper tagging records, there is no way to trace a contaminated batch if customers fall ill.
Toxic substances were found improperly identified, stored, or used. That violation represents an immediate risk of chemical contamination in food, not a paperwork issue.
The inspector further noted that employees were not reporting symptoms of illness, and that no written employee health policy existed. Those two violations together mean there was no formal structure requiring sick workers to stay out of the kitchen, and no documentation that workers had been trained to report symptoms in the first place.
Improper handwashing technique was also cited. Food contact surfaces were not properly cleaned or sanitized. Multi-use utensils showed signs of inadequate cleaning. And time as a public health control was not being used correctly, meaning food was allowed to sit in the temperature danger zone without the tracking required to make that practice safe.
What These Violations Mean
The food-sourcing violation is not a labeling technicality. When food enters a kitchen from an unapproved or unknown source, it has bypassed the federal inspection system entirely. If a customer gets sick, investigators have no supply chain to trace. Listeria, Salmonella, and E. coli have all been linked to uninspected food sources in outbreak investigations.
The shellfish records violation compounds that risk. Oysters and clams are filter feeders that concentrate bacteria and viruses from the water they live in. The tagging and recordkeeping system exists specifically so that a contaminated harvest can be identified and pulled before more people are exposed. Token Ramen & Kung Fu Tea had neither adequate records nor proper identification in place during the April inspection.
The combination of no employee health policy and employees not reporting illness symptoms is what public health officials call an outbreak enabler. Norovirus, the most common cause of foodborne illness outbreaks in restaurant settings, spreads through a single sick food worker touching surfaces or food. A written policy that requires workers to report symptoms and stay home is one of the most basic outbreak prevention tools in a kitchen. It was absent here.
Improperly cleaned food contact surfaces and multi-use utensils that are not properly sanitized create a direct bacterial transfer route. Biofilms, layers of bacteria that adhere to surfaces and resist standard cleaning, can develop on utensils within 24 hours of inadequate washing. When those surfaces or utensils contact food, the contamination moves directly to the customer.
The Longer Record
The April 2026 inspection was not an anomaly. Token Ramen & Kung Fu Tea has 21 inspections on record, with 226 total violations documented across that history. The restaurant has never been emergency-closed.
The pattern of high-severity violations stretches back years. In September 2022, inspectors cited the restaurant for six high-severity and three intermediate violations. In May 2022, it was four high-severity and two intermediate. In January 2025, six high-severity violations were documented in a single visit. In September 2025, three more high-severity violations appeared.
The April 2026 inspection, with eight high-severity violations, represents the highest single-inspection count in the recent record. The restaurant had three high-severity violations in each of two separate inspections in early 2025, and six in January of that year. The trajectory was not improving.
One inspection in August 2024 found zero violations at any level. That stands as an outlier in a record otherwise defined by recurring high-severity citations across categories including food sourcing, illness reporting, and surface sanitation.
Still Open
State inspectors documented eight high-severity violations at Token Ramen & Kung Fu Tea on April 13, 2026, including food from unapproved sources, improperly stored toxic substances, no employee illness policy, and inadequate shellfish traceability records. The restaurant was not ordered closed. It remained open to customers.