, FL. Flying insects were found throughout the store during a state inspection of Wabasso Foods, a convenience store selling significant food items and packaged ice, according to Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services records from a September 28 visit.
The inspector documented three violations during the visit. None were classified as priority violations, and none were corrected on site before the inspector left.
What Inspectors Found
UNRESOLVED AT INSPECTION
INSPECTION OUTCOME
The pest finding was the most direct physical concern documented. The inspector noted "flying insects throughout the facility," a description that does not limit the problem to a single area or piece of equipment but places it across the store as a whole.
The other two violations involved documentation and training. The inspector noted the person in charge "was unable to provide proof that employees have been trained to recognize the symptoms of illness and who to contact in the event of illness." Industry guidance documents were provided at the time of inspection.
The third violation: the person in charge "was unable to provide a written procedure for cleanup of vomitous and diarrhea." Again, the inspector provided guidance documents before leaving.
All three violations carried a "Pf" designation, meaning they are priority foundation violations, the category that underpins food safety management rather than representing an immediate contamination event.
What These Violations Mean
Flying insects in a retail food environment are not a minor nuisance finding. Flies and similar insects travel between waste, surfaces, and exposed food products, carrying bacteria that can contaminate anything they land on. In a store selling packaged ice and significant food items, the concern is direct: insects that move freely throughout the facility can reach products customers handle and consume.
The absence of documented illness training for employees is a separate but serious gap. When a worker does not know what symptoms, such as vomiting, diarrhea, jaundice, or sore throat with fever, require them to stay home or notify a supervisor, they may continue handling food and ice while infectious. Foodborne illness outbreaks have been traced directly to sick employees who worked through symptoms because no one had explained the risk or the reporting chain.
The missing written cleanup procedure for vomit and diarrhea matters for a related reason. Norovirus, one of the most common causes of foodborne illness, spreads easily through contaminated surfaces if a cleanup is handled incorrectly. A written procedure ensures that any employee who responds to such an incident follows steps that actually contain the contamination rather than spread it.
None of these three violations were corrected while the inspector was present. The inspector left guidance documents, but whether those documents have since been acted on is not reflected in the inspection record.
The Longer Record
The September 28 inspection was the second FDACS visit to this location in less than two weeks. An earlier focused inspection on September 17 found zero violations and the store met requirements at that visit.
That gap is notable. A focused inspection eleven days before the full sanitation visit found nothing to flag, yet the subsequent visit produced three violations, including a pest observation that covered the entire facility. Focused inspections are narrower in scope than full sanitation inspections, which means the September 17 visit may not have examined the same areas or conditions that the later inspector assessed.
The inspection record on file covers only these two visits. There is no longer history available in the data to show whether flying insects or training documentation gaps have come up before at this location. What the record does show is that the store passed its requirements on September 28 despite leaving all three violations unresolved, a designation that reflects the overall scoring threshold rather than the absence of findings.
Where Things Stand
Wabasso Foods met the sanitation inspection requirements under the final determination recorded on September 28. That outcome is part of the official record.
Also part of the record: flying insects were present throughout the facility when the inspector arrived, no employee illness training documentation was available, and no written spill cleanup procedure existed. None of those conditions were resolved before the inspector left.
The inspector provided industry guidance documents on both the illness training and the cleanup procedure requirements. Whether staff have since completed training or written procedures have been drafted and posted is not documented in the inspection file reviewed for this report.
