No sanitizer, and some rodents got into chips at this Fort Lauderdale grocer

Business admin October 29, 2026 0 Comments

No sanitizer, and some rodents got into chips at this Fort Lauderdale grocer

Lacking some basic cleaning elements, including sanitizer, stopped all food processing and the sale of all open food at a Fort Lauderdale grocery store after a Tuesday inspection.

Not that those food safety shortcomings bothered rodents at The Blue Store aka Bargain Supermarket, 2901 NW 19th St. All of that did bother Florida Ag Department inspectors Carolyn Dragone and Charbine Kemp, who dropped six Stop Sale orders and one Stop Use order on the store.

One of those Stop Sales hit chips after “rodent droppings were observed on containers of chips and chip bags were observed with chew marks” in the retail area. Also hit with a Stop Sale was a dessert that had “an insect wing inside” in the ice cream freezer.

READ MORE: Iced tea dispenser mold and rodent dung among Shorty’s Bar-B-Q’s 55 violations

“If evidence of pest infestation is observed on the next inspection, a Stop Use Order will be issued on all receiving areas of the establishment and the establishment will no longer be allowed to receive additional food items,” the inspection stated. “A Stop Use Order of all processing equipment will be issued; and a Stop Sale Order of all exposed food items will be issued until the infestation is eradicated.”

That’s boilerplate language the inspectors didn’t bother to edit. They’d already dropped a Stop Sale on “all open food” because there’s “no three-compartment sink located at the establishment.”

Restaurants and grocers can’t operate without at least one three-compartment sink — wash, rinse, sanitize — in the establishment. Supermarkets have several. Your gas station minimart might have just one.

“In order to start processing, establishment must install a properly indirectly plumbed three-compartment sink, obtain test kits, thermometer, and sanitizer,” the inspection said.

Speaking of sanitizer, there was “no sanitizer available at establishment.”

So “utensils and food equipment weren’t sanitized before using,” and, in the kitchen, “old food debris was found on tongs, the grill and the toaster.”

Also in the kitchen, “breading used the previous day was stored in a ‘Thank You’ bag and not reconditioned as needed.” The breading got smacked with a Stop Sale, also because “Thank You” carryout bags aren’t food-grade material.

For the same reason, “pork chops, cooked bacon, and powdered sugar stored in ‘Thank You’ bags” found their way into the garbage.

The only handwash sink in the kitchen “has an A/C hose draining into it.” The only thing inspectors want touching handwash sinks is soapy water from hands being washed. Blue Store “has 30 days to remove the air conditioning hose.”

That handwash sink didn’t have soap or any way to dry your dripping hands. At least the backroom restroom handwash sink had soap, but also the drying of hands was left up to the handwasher.

“Raw shell eggs stored on top of stove at an ambient temperature of 72 degrees.” Those need to be 41 degrees or below. Stop Sale. Basura.

“Living or sleeping quarters located on the premises were not separated from rooms and areas used for food operations by complete partitioning and solid self-closing doors.” The store used the living space in the back of the store for the “storage of food and single use items.”