ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, FL. Inspectors visiting Totoya Sushi at 1022 W SR 436 on October 7 found the restaurant serving food sourced from unapproved or unknown suppliers, meaning none of it had passed through the federal inspection chain that exists to catch Listeria, Salmonella, and other pathogens before they reach a plate.
That was one of seven high-severity violations documented that day. The restaurant was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The unapproved food source violation is particularly acute at a sushi restaurant. Raw fish served without documentation of its origin cannot be traced if a customer gets sick. There is no way to issue a recall, no way to identify other restaurants receiving the same product, and no way to determine whether the fish was handled safely at any point before it arrived in the kitchen.
Alongside that, inspectors found no written employee health policy and documented that at least one employee was not reporting illness symptoms. At a restaurant serving raw fish to customers, those two violations together describe a kitchen where a sick worker has no formal obligation to stay home and no documented procedure requiring it.
Toxic chemicals were found improperly stored or labeled in the same facility. The inspector also cited improper handwashing technique, meaning employees were making handwashing attempts that left pathogens on their hands, and food contact surfaces that were not properly cleaned or sanitized.
The restaurant also lacked a consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods. Florida requires sushi restaurants to post visible notice warning customers that raw fish carries inherent risk, particularly for pregnant women, elderly diners, and anyone with a compromised immune system. On October 7, that notice was absent.
What These Violations Mean
Food from unapproved sources is not a paperwork problem. The USDA and FDA inspection system exists specifically to intercept contaminated product before it reaches restaurants. When a sushi bar sources fish outside that system, the supply chain becomes invisible. If a customer develops a Listeria or Salmonella infection after eating there, investigators have no records to follow.
The illness reporting failure compounds that risk directly. Norovirus, the most common cause of foodborne illness outbreaks in the United States, spreads almost entirely through infected food workers who continue handling food while symptomatic. A kitchen without a written health policy and with documented failure to report symptoms is a kitchen where that transmission route is structurally unaddressed.
Improper handwashing technique is distinct from not washing hands at all. It means a worker goes through the motions but leaves fecal or environmental pathogens on their hands because the technique is wrong, and those hands then touch raw fish, utensils, or surfaces that contact food. Combined with the finding that multi-use utensils were not properly cleaned, the contamination pathways documented at Totoya Sushi on October 7 were numerous and overlapping.
Improperly stored or labeled toxic chemicals near a food preparation environment carry a separate and immediate risk. Mislabeled containers can be mistaken for food-safe products. Chemicals stored near food or food contact surfaces can contaminate both through proximity or spill.
The Longer Record
The October 7 inspection was not an anomaly. State records show Totoya Sushi has accumulated 296 total violations across 27 inspections on record, a figure that reflects a facility with a sustained and documented history of serious compliance failures.
The pattern of high-severity violations is consistent and recent. On March 31 of this year, inspectors found four high-severity violations. The day before, March 30, a follow-up visit still turned up five high-severity violations and one intermediate. In December 2025, inspectors documented six high-severity violations. In April 2025, the tally was seven high-severity and two intermediate, a number that matches exactly what inspectors found again this October.
Going back further, October 2024 produced a seven-high inspection, and April 2024 produced six high-severity violations. The restaurant has never been emergency-closed in its inspection history on record.
Open for Business
A sushi restaurant that sources food from suppliers outside the federal inspection system, employs workers with no documented obligation to report illness, and serves raw fish without warning customers of the risk received ten violations on October 7, seven of them high-severity.
It was not closed.
State records show Totoya Sushi at 1022 W SR 436 in Altamonte Springs remained open following the inspection.
