JACKSONVILLE, FL. State inspectors visiting Wasabi Japanese Steakhouse on Rivercoast Drive on April 22 documented that the restaurant was serving fish without following parasite destruction procedures, meaning customers eating raw or lightly cooked fish that day had no assurance that proper freezing or cooking had killed Anisakis, tapeworm, or other parasites that survive in raw seafood.
That was one of ten high-severity violations inspectors cited that afternoon. The restaurant was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The food sourcing violation is among the most serious items in the inspection record. Inspectors cited food from unapproved or unknown sources, meaning some ingredients at Wasabi that day had not passed through USDA or FDA-regulated supply chains. If a customer later became ill, there would be no paper trail to trace the food back to its origin.
Inspectors also found inadequate shell stock identification and records. Shellfish, including oysters and clams, are consumed raw or lightly cooked at Japanese steakhouses, and without proper tagging records, there is no way to identify the harvest location or date if an illness cluster emerges.
The contaminated food violation adds another layer. Inspectors documented food contaminated by chemical, physical, or biological hazards, alongside a separate citation for toxic chemicals stored improperly or without labels. Both violations were present in the same kitchen on the same day.
Employees were also cited for not reporting symptoms of illness, and for improper handwashing technique. No person in charge was present or performing duties.
What These Violations Mean
The parasite destruction failure is specific to a restaurant serving raw fish. Anisakis, a parasitic roundworm found in marine fish, causes severe abdominal pain and can require surgical removal if ingested alive. Proper freezing protocols, typically holding fish at minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit for seven days or minus 31 degrees for 15 hours, kill the larvae before they reach the plate. Without documentation that those procedures were followed at Wasabi, customers who ordered sushi or sashimi on April 22 had no such assurance.
The illness reporting failure is a direct transmission risk. A food worker who is symptomatic with norovirus and continues handling food can infect dozens of customers before a single complaint is filed. Norovirus is the leading cause of foodborne illness outbreaks in restaurant settings, and it spreads through food contact, not just person-to-person exposure.
The absence of a person in charge is not a paperwork problem. CDC data shows that restaurants without active managerial oversight generate three times as many critical violations as those with engaged management. Every other violation on this list, the handwashing failures, the chemical storage, the sourcing gaps, becomes more likely when no one is watching.
The consumer advisory violation is the final piece. Customers with compromised immune systems, elderly diners, and pregnant women face elevated risk from raw or undercooked fish and shellfish. A posted advisory is the minimum legal mechanism for informing them. There was none.
The Longer Record
Wasabi Japanese Steakhouse: Recent Inspection Pattern
Wasabi Japanese Steakhouse has 51 inspections on record and 330 total violations documented across its history. That is not a new restaurant working out early problems.
The restaurant was emergency-closed in July 2023 for roach activity. It came back, and inspectors returned too. On August 11, 2025, they found seven high-severity violations. On April 6, 2026, just 16 days before this inspection, they found seven high-severity violations again.
The April 22 inspection did not happen in isolation. It happened at a restaurant that had already drawn seven high-severity violations in the same month.
A follow-up inspection the next day, April 23, showed two high-severity violations remaining. The list had shortened. The restaurant had been open throughout.