TAMPA, FL. Back in March 2026, state inspectors walked into Value Market on the inspection record and found the convenience store doing business without a valid food permit, a violation that sits at the foundation of every other problem they documented that day.
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services conducted the inspection on March 30, 2026, classifying it as an "Operating Without a Valid Food Permit" visit. The inspector's notes are direct: "Establishment is operating before obtaining a permit."
What Inspectors Found
The pest entry problem appeared in two separate parts of the store. In the front, the inspector noted an open gap at the middle juncture of the front entrance doors that does not provide a protective seal against insects and rodents. In the old kitchen area at the back, a hole in the ceiling where an exhaust vent had been removed was left unsealed, open to the outside.
The mold finding was specific. In the front storage area, the inspector documented damaged wood-paneled wall at the floor level, no baseboard attached, and black mold-like buildup at the wall and floor juncture. That kind of damage is not something that appears overnight.
Soda cases in the backroom and the front drink storage area were found sitting on bare wood shelving, a surface that cannot be properly sanitized. The walk-in cooler had grime and debris buildup on the floor under display and storage shelves.
The store also lacked a covered receptacle in the unisex restroom, a basic sanitation requirement.
None of the seven violations were corrected on site.
A Repeat Problem at the Top
One violation carried a repeat designation, and it was not a minor one. The store does not have a certified food protection manager who has passed a recognized examination. Inspectors had flagged this same deficiency before, and found it again on March 30.
A certified food protection manager is the person responsible for ensuring that everyone handling food in the establishment understands and follows safe practices. When that position goes unfilled, there is no designated person accountable for food safety decisions on the floor.
The repeat citation means this is not a gap Value Market was unaware of. It had been identified, documented, and left unaddressed.
What These Violations Mean
Operating without a valid food permit is not a paperwork technicality. A permit is what authorizes a food establishment to sell products to the public and confirms that the facility has met baseline requirements for doing so safely. A store selling food without one has not cleared those thresholds, and the state has no formal record of the establishment's compliance status.
The two open gaps, one at the front door and one in the ceiling of the old kitchen area, are direct pathways for insects and rodents to enter the store. Pest activity in a food retail environment contaminates products and surfaces that customers handle and purchase. The fact that neither gap had been sealed, including the ceiling opening left behind after a vent was removed, suggests these were not new conditions.
The black mold-like buildup at the wall and floor juncture in the front storage area is a sanitation concern in a space where products move through before reaching the sales floor. Mold thrives where there is moisture and organic material, and wall damage without a baseboard makes the area harder to clean and more likely to harbor buildup over time.
The absence of a certified food protection manager compounds all of the above. When no one in the building is trained and credentialed to oversee food safety, violations in temperature control, product handling, and facility maintenance are more likely to go unnoticed or unaddressed between inspections.
The Longer Record
The inspection data for this visit does not include a prior inspection count, so the full depth of Value Market's history with state inspectors is not available from this record alone. What the record does show is that at least one violation, the missing certified food protection manager, was documented before March 30 and remained unresolved.
The classification of this inspection as an "Operating Without a Valid Food Permit" visit places it in a distinct category. Inspectors were not conducting a routine check. They were responding to a facility that had not obtained the authorization required to sell food to the public. The seven violations they documented, including the repeat citation and the unsealed pest entry points, were found in that context.
Zero violations were corrected during the inspection. The black mold-like buildup on the wall, the open gap in the ceiling, the bare wood shelving, and the missing food protection manager certification were all still unresolved when the inspector left the store on March 30.