4 South MS restaurants fail health inspection for safety and food handling issues
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Mississippi restaurants require a certified food safety manager for compliance.
- Since Sept. 1, 271 restaurants earned A grades; seven received C for violations.
- Recent C grades cite issues like sewage disposal, handwashing access and training gaps.
The cost of online training and the exam fee to become certified in food safety is about $80 to $100, yet the Mississippi Health Department continues to fail South Mississippi restaurants for not having a certified manager.
Restaurants and food service businesses are required to have the owner or employee trained in safe food handling and preparation. The certification is good for five years and requires online or in-person training and a passing grade on the exam.
The latest to fail their inspections for no certified manager are Avocados of MS and Avocados of MS Bar, 820 U.S. 90, Bay St. Louis. They were inspected Sept. 18 for a permit renewal.
Corrected during the inspection of the restaurant was:
- Proper date marking and disposition
Both were reinspected on Sept. and with all violations corrected, scored a B.
This was the first C for the businesses dating back to 2017.
Restaurants score an A when there are no violations, a B when all issues are cleared during the inspection and a C when the inspector finds critical violations.
Also scoring a C since Sept. 10 were:
Zakis Cafe, 2093 Pass Road, Gulfport, had a scheduled inspection Sept. 24. It was cited for:
- Adequate handwashing facilities not supplied and accessible
Corrected during the inspection was:
- No bare hand contact with ready to eat foods
The restaurant was reinspected Sept. 25 and scored a B, with all violations corrected.
This is the first C since the restaurant opened in April, according to Health Department records.
Sweet Leaf, 1203 30th Ave., Gulfport. was inspected Sept. 10 for a permit renewal. It was cited for:
- Food not separated and protected
- Sewage wastewater not properly disposed.
A follow-up inspection on Sept. 22 showed the violations were corrected and the restaurant scored a B.
This is the second C since 2023.
The vast majority of restaurant in South Mississippi pass their inspection without any violations.
Since Sept. 1, inspectors scored 271 restaurants an A, 31 a B and seven a C.
This story was originally published September 25, 2025 at 11:46 AM.
