TAMPA, FL. Back in March 2026, state inspectors walked into Token Ramen of S Tampa Inc and found the establishment operating without a valid food permit, a fact that framed everything else they documented that day.
The March 23 inspection by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services turned up 18 total violations, including two priority violations tied directly to food safety temperatures. Whole milk sitting on a counter in the tea prep area measured 68 degrees Fahrenheit internally. Tapioca held in a crockpot for less than two hours measured 120 degrees, well below the 135-degree minimum required for hot-held food.
Both were corrected on site. The milk was relocated to a freezer to quick-chill, and the tapioca was rapidly reheated to 165 degrees for 15 seconds before the crockpot temperature was raised to meet the 135-degree threshold.
What Inspectors Found
Beyond the temperature failures, inspectors found a bug zapper light resting on the tea prep table. Bug zappers designed to electrocute flying insects are not permitted to be used over or near food preparation surfaces because insect fragments can fall onto food or equipment.
The walk-in cooler held cooked pork that had been removed from the freezer more than 24 hours earlier with no date marking. The seven-day date marking requirement exists so staff can track whether refrigerated, ready-to-eat food has been held too long. That violation was corrected on site, with the pork properly date marked and requirements discussed with management.
The deli slicer in the back processing area had old food buildup and was stored as clean. Inspectors had it disassembled, cleaned, and sanitized during the visit.
The handwashing sink in the front food prep area had no soap and no paper towels. Both were provided before inspectors left.
Additional problems spread across the facility. Squeeze bottles of sauces and oils in the front food processing area were not labeled with common names. The handle of an ice scoop in the tea prep area was resting in the ice bin, touching the ice directly. Containers without handles were being used as scoops in bulk sugar and powder products in the back prep area. A clean knife was stored in the gap between the deli cooler and a prep table.
The establishment also had no probe thermometer and no written procedures for responding to a vomiting or diarrheal event. A probe thermometer was obtained during the inspection. The ambient thermometer inside the large silver freezer in the back processing area was not functioning, though the inspector verified the freezer temperature independently.
Old food buildup was documented on drawer handles and inside the cooler under the stove top, between the stove tops, and at the bottom of the large silver freezer. Old grease had accumulated on the hood over the stove top. Clean bowls and pans were wet-nesting on drying racks in the warewashing area rather than being air-dried. Cardboard was lining shelving and the bottom of a large silver cooler, and an unsealed plank of wood sat under the plumbing of the three-compartment sink.
What These Violations Mean
The two temperature violations at Token Ramen represent the most direct food safety risks documented that day. Milk at 68 degrees and tapioca at 120 degrees are both in the temperature range where bacteria multiply rapidly. The danger zone for bacterial growth runs from 41 to 135 degrees Fahrenheit, and food that spends time in that range without proper temperature control can become unsafe before any visible sign of spoilage appears.
The unlabeled cooked pork in the walk-in cooler is a different category of risk. Without a date mark, neither staff nor inspectors can confirm how long the food has been held. Ready-to-eat food that has been refrigerated beyond seven days poses a Listeria risk in particular, since that pathogen can grow at refrigerator temperatures. The absence of a date mark removes the only safeguard against unknowingly serving food that has exceeded safe hold times.
The deli slicer with old food buildup stored as clean is a cross-contamination concern. A slicer that is not properly cleaned and sanitized between uses can transfer bacteria from one food to the next, including from raw to ready-to-eat products. The absence of soap and paper towels at the handwashing sink compounds that risk: without functioning handwashing stations, employees have no reliable means to prevent pathogen transfer during food handling.
Operating without a valid food permit means the establishment was not legally authorized to sell food at the time of inspection. A permit application had been submitted, but the fee had not yet been paid.
The Longer Record
The March 2026 inspection was not Token Ramen's first difficult review. State records show five prior FDACS inspections at this location going back to 2023.
The most comparable visit came in August 2023, when inspectors documented 21 violations and the establishment met inspection requirements. A follow-up focused inspection that same month showed zero violations. The pattern repeated in September 2025: a September 11 inspection turned up 17 violations and required a re-inspection, a focused inspection the next day showed zero violations, and a September 25 inspection found four violations with one repeat.
The March 2026 visit, with 18 violations, landed between the two worst totals on record for this location. None of the 18 violations were marked as repeats from prior inspections, which is notable given the volume. The establishment has now accumulated inspections showing 21, 17, and 18 violations across three separate visits since 2023, a record that suggests recurring difficulty maintaining consistent compliance rather than isolated lapses.
None of the 18 violations from the March 23 inspection were corrected on site in the aggregate, though several individual items, including the milk, the tapioca, the ice scoop, the knife, the spray bottle, the probe thermometer, and the deli slicer, were addressed during the visit. The bug zapper on the prep table, the cardboard lining shelving throughout the facility, the old food buildup on equipment surfaces, the grease on the hood, and the wet-nesting bowls were not among the items the inspection record shows as corrected before inspectors left.