Eat more bacteria? Chick-fil-A Bellevue scores 55/100 on heath inspection

SEATTLE — One of the latest reviews for Chick-fil-A in Bellevue resulted in an unsatisfactory mark — not because of a chicken sandwich recipe but the way the food was handled. 
 
The restaurant scored a 55 out of 100 for a health department inspection on July 15.   
 
According to a King County database, violation descriptions with a red flag next to it included "proper barriers used to prevent bare hand contact with ready-to-eat-foods" and "proper cooling procedure." 
 
In health inspections, red indicates if the violation is left uncorrected, it is more likely than other violations to directly contribute to food contamination or food-borne illness. Such critical violation problems can create environments that cause bacteria to grow and thrive, which puts the consumer at risk for food-borne illness.
 
Non-critical violations are labeled blue, and could impede the operation of a restaurant.

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The Chick-fil-A in Bellevue had a blue flag next to the description "Wiping cloths properly used, stores, proper sanitizer." 
 
Thousands have flocked to the restaurant since it opened in April, creating traffic problems in the area to the point where officers had to step in to help.

Restaurants in Lynnwood and Tacoma opened shortly after Bellevue.
 
The two also came with congested traffic. Additionally, recent food inspections aren't much better than the Bellevue location.
 
In a July 1 Snohomish County Health District report, three violations were recorded; a critical mark included, "Potentially hazardous cold food was not maintained at temperatures in accordance with the Food Code."

Tacoma Health Department found "potentially hazardous food time/temperature" at its local Chick-fil-A.  Another inspection in May showed no violations.

KIRO 7 made calls to Chick Fil-A Thursday morning asking for their side of the story. We received the following statement from Chick-fil-A restaurants of Puget Sound:

"Food safety and cleanliness are our utmost priority at Chick-fil-A. Each of our independently owned and operated restaurants in the Puget Sound area have immediately addressed the issues noted in the health inspection reports. As common practice, Lynnwood and Tacoma were able to address and correct the situation immediately with the inspector on-site, and the Bellevue restaurant is scheduled for a re-inspection within the next few days. We are confident upon re-inspection the items cited in the Bellevue report will be corrected. Each restaurant is following the protocol outlined in our food handling policy for cooling and holding procedures and these procedures comply with the State of Washington’s health code."

KIRO