Business

Dirty scoops and no handwash sink get Miami coffee maker shut down

Still lacking basic handwashing and utensil sanitizing sinks eight months after a warning from a state Inspector, a West Miami-Dade coffee company had its processing and packaging shut down by that same inspector.

The company: Per’La Specialty Roasters, 4657 SW 71st Ave. The inspector: Edilma Leidecker of the Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services.

Like all FDACS inspectors, Leidecker arrives for inspections with Stop Sale Order and Stop Use Order powers in her holster. And, she smacked Per’La with the latter when she returned on Wednesday.

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Leidecker saw “the scoops used for packaging the roasted coffee are not being cleaned due to there being no three-compartment sink in the facility. This is a repeat violation from the report for the previous inspection conducted on Oct. 2, 2025.”

The three-compartment sink, also called a “triple sink,” is sectioned off for washing, rinsing and sanitizing utensils and cookware by hand.

Leidecker “observed no handwash sink available inside the processing area where the manual packaging of the coffee takes place. This is a repeat violation from the report for the previous inspection conducted on Oct. 2, 2025.”

That drew the Stop Use Order on the processing and packaging area.

Per’La also got cited for “an employee loading green coffee beans into the roaster, roasting and discharging the coffee without wearing either a hair net or a beard cover.”

State records say Per’La’s run by Chris Nolte, Paul Massard and Vanessa Nolte. Per’La’s website says, in addition to individual orders, it serves “renowned names in the food and hospitality sectors, both locally and nationally.”

David J. Neal
Miami Herald
Since 1989, David J. Neal’s domain at the Miami Herald has expanded to include writing about Panthers (NHL and FIU), Dolphins, old school animation, food safety, fraud, naughty lawyers, bad doctors and all manner of breaking news. He drinks coladas whole. He does not work Indianapolis 500 Race Day.
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