Health officials in Columbia, South Carolina took swift action against Chick-fil-A after raw marinating chicken held above safe temperatures in the kitchen prep area.
A Chick-fil-A franchise in the Lake Murray area of Columbia was cited for two critical temperature violations after Richland County health inspectors found raw marinating chicken stored at temperatures above the required 41°F maximum. The violations were attributed to an overloaded prep cooler that was not maintaining adequate temperature.
The FDA Food Code requires hot foods to be held above 135°F and cold foods below 41°F. The temperature range between those thresholds is called the 'danger zone' — the range in which bacteria like Salmonella and Staphylococcus aureus can double in number every 20 minutes.
The official inspection records state that the prep cooler was loaded beyond its designed capacity, reducing its ability to maintain required temperatures. The State coverage confirmed that marinating poultry must be kept at or below 41°F to prevent Salmonella growth during the marination process, while inspectors separately flagged that raw chicken marinading containers were recorded at temperatures between 47°F and 52°F.
Health inspectors follow a standardized checklist covering more than 50 individual food safety criteria. During this visit, the team flagged violations across multiple categories, indicating systemic rather than isolated failures.
Health officials remind consumers that a clean dining room does not guarantee a clean kitchen. The only reliable way to assess a restaurant's food safety practices is to review its most recent health inspection report, which is a public document in every U.S. state.
Before your next dinner out, check the health inspection score at InspectorEats.com. Knowledge is your best defense against foodborne illness.
This incident serves as a reminder that even well-known restaurants can fall short of health standards. Chick-fil-A reduced the cooler load and passed a same-day reinspection after verifying all products returned to safe temperature.