MEDLEY, FL. Back in March 2026, state inspectors walked into the U Shop Medley (Valero) convenience store and found the pastry hot case holding croquettes, ham and cheese pastries, meat pastries, chicken pastries, empanadas, and tequenos at temperatures ranging from 115 to 125 degrees Fahrenheit, well below the 135-degree minimum required by law to keep hot food safe.
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services documented 19 total violations during the March 19 inspection, including three priority violations and seven priority-foundation violations. None were repeat violations, but the range and nature of what inspectors found painted a picture of a food operation running with significant gaps in basic food safety practice.
What Inspectors Found
The temperature violation was the most acute finding. The inspector noted that all the affected hot food items were reheated to a minimum of 165 degrees Fahrenheit during the inspection, which counts as a corrected-on-site resolution. But the food had been sitting in that case at unsafe temperatures before inspectors arrived.
Glove use was also flagged as a priority concern. Inspectors observed food employees wearing single-use gloves while handling food, then leaving the preparation area and returning without changing gloves or washing hands. Employees washed hands and put on fresh gloves after the inspector intervened.
The handwashing sink in the kitchen was blocked by a storage cart at the time of inspection. A separate observation noted that one food employee had washed their hands at the ware wash sink rather than the designated handwashing sink. Both were corrected during the visit.
The store also lacked sink stoppers at the ware wash sink, making it impossible to properly wash, rinse, and sanitize equipment and utensils in three separate compartments as required. A stopper was obtained during the inspection.
Multiple packaged desserts and sandwiches in the retail reach-in cooler were missing labeling information, including product name, ingredients, manufacturer information, and net weight. The inspector noted those products were removed from retail during the inspection.
The person in charge could not answer questions about foodborne illness and employee reporting responsibilities. Inspectors provided a copy of employee health guidance and a reporting agreement by email during the visit. A separate violation noted the store had no consumer advisory posted where customers order eggs cooked to order.
Several lower-level violations rounded out the picture. Wet wiping cloths were left on preparation tables rather than stored in sanitizer solution. Multiple unlabeled squeeze bottles sat on prep tables throughout the kitchen and deli area. The probe thermometer failed a calibration check in ice water and was recalibrated on site. Dumpster lids outside were found open, and a mop was stored directly on the floor rather than hung to air-dry. Personal phones were stored on a shelf above a preparation table in the kitchen.
What These Violations Mean
The hot-holding temperature failure is the violation with the most direct consequence for anyone who bought food at this store that day. Bacteria like Staphylococcus aureus and Clostridium perfringens multiply rapidly in food held between roughly 70 and 125 degrees Fahrenheit. Croquettes and empanadas sitting at 115 degrees in a display case are not just lukewarm, they are in the temperature range where bacterial growth accelerates. The two-hour window before dangerous bacterial levels can accumulate is not visible to a customer buying a pastry off the shelf.
The glove violation matters for a related reason. Gloves create a false sense of barrier protection when employees move between tasks without changing them. An employee who handles raw food, exits the prep area, touches a door handle or a phone, and then returns to handle ready-to-eat food with the same gloves has transferred whatever was on those surfaces directly to the food. The violation at U Shop Medley was not a technicality.
The blocked handwashing sink and the employee washing hands at the wrong sink are connected failures. Handwashing sinks are required to be accessible at all times precisely because the moment an employee cannot easily reach one, they skip the step. A ware wash sink is not a substitute: it is used for equipment, not hands, and the two uses should never be interchanged.
The person in charge's inability to answer questions about foodborne illness reporting is a structural problem. When a manager does not know the rules for when a sick employee must be excluded from food handling, the safeguard against an ill worker spreading illness through food disappears entirely.
The Longer Record
The March 2026 inspection was only the second FDACS inspection on record for this location. The prior visit, in June 2023, found seven violations and also resulted in a "Met Inspection Requirements" outcome.
The jump from seven violations to 19 over roughly two and a half years is notable. None of the March 2026 violations were flagged as repeats of what was found in 2023, but with only two inspections on record, the comparison is limited. What the record does show is that the facility passed both inspections despite the volume of findings in March.
The store met sanitation inspection requirements in March 2026, meaning the violations corrected on site were sufficient for the facility to remain open. But seven of the 19 violations were not documented as corrected on site, including the consumer advisory for eggs cooked to order, the unlabeled squeeze bottles, the wet wiping cloths, the open dumpster lids, the improperly stored mop, the personal phones above the prep table, and the clean pots stored wet and not inverted. Those findings were unresolved when the inspector left.