On Tuesday, Nov. 18 a video posted to social media of Pho Love in Milpitas quickly circulated. The post depicted a restaurant employee attempting to break up frozen ribs by throwing them on the ground of the back parking lot area of the restaurant feet from mops, a mopping bucket and a parked car.
The Milpitas restaurant was closed by the Department of Environmental Health on Nov. 20, but not due to the contents of the video.
According to Santa Clara County’s Department of Environmental Health records, Pho Love was visited by an inspector on Sept. 12, 2025 for a routine inspection where the restaurant was given a score 93 out of 100.
However, after a “limited inspection” was conducted on Nov. 20, just two days after the video was posted, the restaurant was temporarily closed. From that visit, the investigator found a live cockroach on the outside of a three-door refrigerator, no proper sanitary station by the kitchen’s sink area and a tray of raw chicken directly on the floor of the food preparation area.
As for the video, the employee who was seen throwing the frozen short ribs told the inspector that it was a “one-time occurrence” that only happened due to the lack of counter space in the food prep area. The employee also said that the meat from the video was discarded after he saw that it had been contaminated. The inspector confirmed that there were no short ribs in the facility at the time of the visit.
On Nov. 24, a follow-up inspection was conducted. The restaurant completed the checklist advised by the inspector to re-open, which included obtaining materials for proper sanitization and a report of a pest control company’s treatment of the area.
After the follow-up inspection the restaurant was cleared by the department to re-open. However, as of Dec. 5 the restaurant remains closed. According to an NBC report, the owners have not opened due to the backlash that Pho Love has received from the video.
