🔴 NO ONE WASHED THEIR HANDS. AT ALL.
“No hand washing was observed during the entirety of the inspection.” (Violation 2-301.14)
🔴 NO HOT WATER AT THE START OF THE INSPECTION.
“No hot water in establishment at the beginning of inspection.” (Violation 5-202.12)
🔴 RAW MEAT STORED WITH COOKED FOOD.
“Raw meats and cooked meats stored together in bags in walk in freezer.”
“Raw chicken observed in plastic bags next to plastic bags of sausage.” (Violation 3-302.11)
🔴 MEAT TEMPERATURES IN THE DANGER ZONE.
“The temperature of the Meatloaf in the Steam Table was 99 degrees.”
Hot food must be held at 135°F or above. This was over 35 degrees too cold.
🔴 FREEZER REGISTERED AT 50 DEGREES.
“Ambient in the Walk-in Freezer was 50 degrees.”
That’s a refrigerator—barely—and it’s supposed to be a freezer.
🔴 DIRTY MEAT RAGS STORED IN FOOD BAG BOXES.
“Dirty meat rag observed in box of food grade bags.”
🔴 SANITIZER BOTTLES WERE EMPTY.
“Sanitizer in bottles in meat room observed at 0ppm.”
No effective sanitizer = no defense against bacteria.
🔴 MEAT SAW FILTHY WITH BUILT-UP MEAT.
“Meat build up observed on meat saw.”
🔴 CHEMICALS HANGING ABOVE RAW MEAT.
“Chemical bottles… observed hanging above a box of raw meat.”
🔴 NO EMPLOYEE HEALTH POLICY ON FILE.
“No employee health policy available on site.”
Which is required by law.
🔴 PRODUCTS FROM UNKNOWN SUPPLIER.
“Boxes of bakery items… did not bare any labels. Inspector could not find any information about this bakery.”
And here’s the kicker: this inspection happened over a year ago—March 21, 2024. Seabra was reinspected once on April 11, 2024… and hasn’t been inspected since.
This store has proven what happens when you let years pass without oversight:
🚫 Food safety crumbles.
🧼 Sanitation becomes optional.
🥩 Raw meat gets stored next to cooked food and chemicals.
But what does the City of Framingham do in response?
They reward the business.
💸 In June 2023, officials backed a Tax Increment Finance (TIF) deal to help Seabra open a brand new, larger store in downtown Framingham—offering property tax breaks, seed money, and help “removing barriers” to expansion.
📍 The new store at 35 Concord St. (former Salvation Army) will be nearly triple the size of the Waverly St. location—yes, the same Waverly location that’s been failing inspections and dodging routine oversight for years.
According to City Councilor Michael Cannon:
“This is an absolute win for the community.”
And Council Chair Phil Ottaviani called it:
“A no-brainer.”
Brains—and basic food safety—are required.
In the summer of 2023, Seabra bought the property for $3.5 million, right after that glowing public hearing. And now the city is charging ahead to support their new store… while the old store hasn’t been reinspected in over a year and has a documented pattern of dangerous violations.
So here’s our question:
❓Why is Framingham subsidizing expansion when the company hasn’t proven it can handle basic food safety?
