PORT ORANGE, FL. State inspectors visited Yumi Sushi on South Nova Road on September 25, 2026, and documented that the restaurant had not followed parasite destruction procedures for its fish, a direct risk to anyone who ordered sushi or sashimi that day.
That single violation was one of nine high-severity citations issued during the inspection. The restaurant was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The parasite destruction citation is among the most serious violations a sushi restaurant can receive. Fish served raw or lightly prepared must be frozen to specific temperatures for a minimum period before service, a process that kills parasites including Anisakis and tapeworm. Records do not indicate whether the fish in question had been through that process.
Inspectors also cited the restaurant for inadequate shell stock identification and records. Shellfish such as oysters, clams, and mussels require harvest tags that trace them back to their source. Without those records, there is no way to trace a contaminated batch if customers become sick.
Employees were cited for both inadequate handwashing and improper handwashing technique, two separate violations that together indicate a systemic breakdown in basic food safety practice. A third handwashing-related concern, that at least one employee was not reporting illness symptoms, rounded out what inspectors documented as a direct transmission risk to customers.
Food was also found not cooked to required minimum temperatures. The inspection record does not specify which item or items were involved, but the citation applies to a category of violations in which pathogens including Salmonella can survive and cause illness.
The restaurant was also cited for toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled, no allergen awareness demonstrated among staff, no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked foods, improper sewage or wastewater disposal, improper sanitizing procedures, and inadequate ventilation and lighting.
What These Violations Mean
The parasite destruction failure is not a paperwork problem. Parasites in raw fish are killed through a controlled freezing process, and skipping or improperly executing that step means live parasites can reach a customer's plate. Anisakis, the most common fish parasite, causes severe abdominal pain and can require surgical removal if it burrows into the gastrointestinal lining.
The handwashing violations compound the risk. Inspectors cited both the fact that employees were not washing hands adequately and that the technique used was incorrect. Those are two distinct failure points. An employee who washes hands improperly leaves pathogens on their hands just as surely as one who skips washing entirely. Combined with the citation for employees not reporting illness symptoms, the inspection record describes a kitchen where sick workers could prepare raw fish without washing their hands correctly.
The allergen awareness citation carries its own separate danger. Food allergies affect roughly 32 million Americans, and allergic reactions send 30,000 people to emergency rooms each year. A kitchen staff that cannot demonstrate allergen awareness is a kitchen that cannot reliably flag shellfish, soy, or fish proteins in dishes for customers who ask.
The improper sewage disposal citation is among the most alarming intermediate violations in any food service context. Raw sewage contains fecal bacteria including E. coli and norovirus. Improper disposal creates a contamination pathway that can spread across an entire facility.
The Longer Record
September's inspection was not an outlier for Yumi Sushi. State records show 25 inspections on file for the Nova Road location, with 178 total violations documented across that history. The restaurant has never been emergency-closed.
The pattern of high-severity violations stretches back years. Inspectors cited seven high-severity violations in August 2024 and again in January 2024, the latter accompanied by seven intermediate violations in the same visit. Before that, five high-severity violations were recorded in July 2023 and again in February 2023.
The most recent inspection before September 2026 was in May 2026, when inspectors cited three high-severity and three intermediate violations. The jump to nine high-severity violations in a single visit four months later represents the worst single inspection in the available recent record.
The Longer Record in Context
A facility with 25 inspections and 178 cumulative violations tells a specific story. That averages to more than seven violations per inspection across the restaurant's recorded history. The categories that appeared in September, including handwashing failures, temperature violations, and food sourcing documentation gaps, are not new to this location.
No inspection in the available history resulted in an emergency closure order.
After the September 25 inspection, Yumi Sushi remained open for business.
