ORLANDO, FL. Inspectors visiting Tomasinos Pizza on East Colonial Drive on July 28 found the restaurant serving food sourced from unapproved or unknown suppliers, a violation that means none of that food had passed through federal safety inspections designed to catch Listeria, Salmonella, and other pathogens before it reached customers' plates.
That was one of seven high-severity violations documented that day. The restaurant was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The unapproved food source violation was not the only finding that put customers at direct risk. Inspectors also cited the restaurant for failing to cook food to the required minimum internal temperature, a failure that allows pathogens like Salmonella to survive in poultry and other proteins and reach the customer's plate alive.
Two separate violations involved toxic chemicals. Inspectors found chemicals improperly stored or labeled, and separately cited toxic substances for improper identification, storage, or use. Both violations were classified as high severity. That means chemicals capable of causing acute poisoning were present in the kitchen in conditions that could lead to food contamination.
The restaurant was also cited for having no allergen awareness demonstrated among staff. Food allergies send roughly 30,000 Americans to emergency rooms each year. A kitchen where staff cannot identify or communicate allergen risks is a kitchen where a customer with a severe allergy has no reliable protection.
The remaining high-severity violation involved the improper use of time as a public health control. When a restaurant uses time rather than temperature to keep food safe, it operates under strict rules about how long food can sit in the bacterial growth zone between 41 and 135 degrees. Those rules were not being followed.
The two intermediate violations involved multi-use utensils that were not properly cleaned and wiping cloths used incorrectly. Improperly cleaned utensils develop bacterial biofilms within 24 hours. Misused wiping cloths spread contamination from surface to surface rather than removing it.
What These Violations Mean
The food sourcing violation is one of the most serious a restaurant can receive, and not only because of what inspectors found that day. Food from unapproved suppliers has no paper trail. If a customer gets sick, investigators have no supply chain to trace, no lot numbers to pull, no way to know how many other people may have eaten from the same batch. The entire traceability system that allows health officials to contain outbreaks depends on licensed, inspected suppliers. When that chain is broken, it breaks quietly.
The cooking temperature and time control violations compound the sourcing problem. If food arrives from an uninspected supplier and is then undercooked, the two primary safeguards against pathogen contamination have both failed at once. Salmonella in poultry survives below 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Improper time control allows bacteria to multiply in food that is never held cold enough or hot enough to suppress growth.
The allergen finding carries a different kind of risk. Anaphylaxis can be fatal within minutes. A customer with a severe tree nut or shellfish allergy who asks a server whether a dish is safe is relying entirely on that staff member's knowledge. When inspectors cite a restaurant for no allergen awareness demonstrated, they are documenting that the knowledge was not there.
The dual chemical violations, taken together, point to a kitchen where hazardous substances were not segregated from food preparation areas or were not clearly labeled. Either condition can result in a customer ingesting a cleaning agent or pesticide without any visible sign that something is wrong.
The Longer Record
The July 28 inspection was not an anomaly. State records show Tomasinos Pizza has been inspected 33 times and has accumulated 261 total violations. The restaurant has never been emergency-closed.
The pattern in recent inspections is consistent. On October 3, 2025, inspectors found six high-severity violations. On February 13, 2025, they found five high-severity violations and one intermediate. On November 17, 2025, there were three high-severity violations. The restaurant cycled through these inspections without triggering a closure order.
Then came July 28, 2026, with seven high-severity violations. Nine days later, on August 6, 2026, inspectors returned and found six high-severity violations and two intermediate violations. That follow-up visit came after the inspection at the center of this story, which means the July findings did not produce a clean re-inspection.
Across the eight most recent inspections on record, the restaurant has not had a single visit without at least one high-severity violation. That is a span stretching back to at least January 2024.
Still Open
State inspectors documented seven high-severity violations at Tomasinos Pizza on July 28, including food from an unapproved source, two separate chemical storage failures, no allergen awareness among staff, and food not cooked to minimum required temperatures.
The restaurant on East Colonial Drive remained open.
