TAMPA, FL. Back in February 2026, state inspectors walked into Twist Smoke Shop, a hemp specialty retailer in Tampa, and found nine separate kratom brands on the retail floor missing a disclosure that Florida's emergency rule specifically requires: the concentration of 7-hydroxymitragynine, measured in parts per million on a dry-weight basis.
The brands named in the inspection report were Club13, White Rabbit, Rapture, Magic Dose, Xtreme Speciosa, MIT Therapy, MIT45, Chill Free, and Bare Kratom. Inspectors noted that products in capsule or tablet form also lacked a supplement facts panel on their packaging. Stop sale orders were issued for all of them.
That was not the only problem inspectors found that day.
What Inspectors Found
Hemp extract products in the retail area were not in child-resistant packaging, a direct violation of state law. Management voluntarily discarded those products in front of the inspector, and stop sale orders were issued and simultaneously released on site.
A separate set of hemp extract products lacked one or more of the following: a batch number, a website address for batch information, an expiration date, milligrams of each marketed cannabinoid per serving, the manufacturer's name and address, serving size, or an inhalation warning where applicable. Those, too, were discarded by management on site.
Inspectors also noted that some hemp extract products contained color additives, which state rules prohibit because they make products visually attractive to children. Same result: management discarded them while the inspector watched.
The shop was also operating without a valid food permit as of the February 9 inspection date, though records indicate an application had already been submitted. Inspectors noted the shop would need to remit the appropriate fee within ten days.
The drink bar the shop was running presented its own cluster of problems. Inspectors found no handwashing sink in the area where drinks were being served, no three-compartment sink on the premises, and no mop sink anywhere in the building. All three deficiencies triggered stop use orders, and the drink bar was removed from service. The restroom door was not self-closing.
Two Violations Inspectors Had Already Seen Before
Two of the ten violations were marked repeat citations, meaning inspectors had documented the same problems at this location on a prior visit.
The kratom labeling failure was one of them. The missing handwashing sink at the drink service area was the other. Both were flagged as repeat on February 9, 2026.
That means management had already been put on notice about the 7-hydroxymitragynine disclosure requirement and the handwashing infrastructure gap before inspectors returned and found both problems unchanged.
Neither repeat violation was corrected on site during the February 9 inspection. The kratom products were placed under stop sale orders pending a follow-up inspector visit for written release. The drink bar was shut down entirely.
What These Violations Mean
The kratom labeling requirement at the center of this inspection is not a technicality. 7-hydroxymitragynine is the compound in kratom that researchers have identified as primarily responsible for its opioid-like effects, and it varies significantly in concentration across products and batches. A consumer buying a capsule product at Twist Smoke Shop in February 2026 had no way to know, from the packaging, how much of that compound they were getting. That is precisely the information Florida's emergency rule requires to be disclosed.
The child-attractiveness rule for hemp extract products addresses a different but equally direct risk. Products with color additives are more likely to be mistaken for candy or food by young children. State law prohibits them for that reason. The fact that multiple such products were on the shelf, and that separate products also lacked basic labeling like expiration dates and cannabinoid concentrations per serving, means customers were buying products with no reliable way to assess what they were consuming or when those products were no longer safe to use.
The missing handwashing sink at the drink bar is a foundational food safety requirement. Any establishment serving beverages to the public is required to have a handwashing sink accessible in that service area. Without one, there is no reliable mechanism for employees to clean their hands between handling money, touching surfaces, and preparing drinks. The absence of a three-compartment sink compounds that problem: without it, there is no compliant way to wash, rinse, and sanitize the equipment used to prepare those drinks.
The Longer Record
The inspection history at this location is short. The February 9, 2026 inspection was followed by a follow-up visit on February 10, 2026, which recorded zero violations and noted the shop had met sanitation inspection requirements.
That single-day turnaround from ten violations and multiple stop sale orders to a clean follow-up inspection is notable. It suggests management moved quickly once inspectors left, discarding non-compliant hemp products on site during the first visit and addressing the drink bar issues through the stop use orders.
What the record does not resolve is the repeat status of two violations. The kratom labeling problem and the missing handwashing sink had both been cited before February 9. The February 10 follow-up showed the shop passed, but the prior inspection that first flagged those repeat violations is not included in the available records. How long those two problems had been documented before they were finally corrected remains an open question.