FLORIDA. A Chick-fil-A in Florida City drew seven high-severity violations in a single inspection between July and October 2026, the worst performance among the chain's 216 Florida locations during that stretch, and one of the most alarming single-location records the chain produced statewide.
The Chick-fil-A at 326 SE 1st Ave, Florida City was cited for no employee health policy, an employee failing to report symptoms of illness, and improper hand and arm washing technique, all in the same inspection. Inspectors also documented food in poor condition, inadequate shell stock identification records, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and a person in charge who was either absent or not performing duties. An intermediate violation for improper sewage or wastewater disposal rounded out the visit.
That combination, seven high-severity citations at once, placed the Florida City location at the top of the chain's worst performers for the 90-day period ending October 4, 2026.
The Violations
The second-worst location in the 90-day period was the Chick-fil-A at 14020 Lunar Dr in Jacksonville, which drew five high-severity violations. Those included food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled, and no allergen awareness demonstrated by staff. Inspectors also cited inadequate shell stock records and the absence of a consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
The Chick-fil-A at 6050 W Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway in Kissimmee matched that count with five high-severity violations and no intermediate citations. Inspectors found food from an unapproved or unknown source, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, and food not cooked to the required minimum temperature. Toxic substances were also improperly identified, stored, or used.
The Chick-fil-A at 4590 W State Road 46 in Sanford produced the longest combined violation list among the mid-tier locations, with four high-severity and three intermediate citations. The Sanford location was cited for improper sewage disposal, multi-use utensils not properly cleaned, and inadequate ventilation, alongside high-severity findings for improperly stored chemicals and no allergen awareness.
The Chick-fil-A at 9500 McKenna Drive in Orlando was cited for food from an unapproved source, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, no consumer advisory, and no allergen awareness demonstrated. Inspectors also noted inadequate cooling and cold holding equipment.
The Chick-fil-A Mandarin at 3280 Oak Bluff Lane in Jacksonville was cited for a person in charge not present or not performing duties, an employee not reporting symptoms of illness, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, and no consumer advisory. Multi-use utensils were not properly cleaned either.
The Chick-fil-A at 1541 County Road 220 on Fleming Island drew citations for improper handwashing technique, toxic chemicals improperly stored, no allergen awareness, and no consumer advisory, alongside a sewage disposal violation.
The Chick-fil-A Sand Lake Road at 7333 W Sand Lake Road in Orlando was cited for inadequate shell stock identification, parasite destruction procedures not followed, no consumer advisory, and toxic substances improperly identified or stored.
The Chick-fil-A at 3166 Daniels Road in Winter Garden drew four high-severity violations, including parasite destruction procedures not followed, toxic chemicals improperly stored, and an employee not reporting symptoms of illness, plus sewage and ventilation citations.
The Chick-fil-A at Cypress Creek Town Center at 2349 Sun Vista Drive in Lutz had the lowest total among the ten, with two high-severity violations, including food not cooked to the required minimum temperature, and two intermediate citations for ventilation and toilet facilities.
What These Violations Mean
The most frequently cited high-severity violation across these ten locations was the absence of a consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, appearing at seven of them. At a chain best known for chicken sandwiches, that citation is jarring. Without a posted advisory, customers who are pregnant, elderly, or immunocompromised have no way of knowing when a menu item carries an elevated risk from undercooked protein.
Closely related, and more immediately dangerous, is the failure to follow parasite destruction procedures, cited at the Winter Garden and Sand Lake Road locations. Parasites including Anisakis in fish and Trichinella in pork survive when food is not frozen or cooked to required standards. Both locations also lacked a consumer advisory, meaning customers had no warning that the standard safety step had not been taken.
The illness reporting and health policy failures at the Florida City and Mandarin locations represent a different category of risk. When no written employee health policy exists and workers are not required to report symptoms, an ill employee can transmit Norovirus or other pathogens directly to food. The Florida City location had both violations simultaneously, along with the absence of a person in charge who could have caught either problem.
Improper sewage disposal, cited at six of the ten locations, including Florida City, Winter Garden, Orlando on McKenna Drive, Sanford, Fleming Island, and Sand Lake Road, is not a paperwork violation. Raw sewage carries pathogens including E. coli and Hepatitis A. When wastewater is not properly routed or contained, fecal contamination can reach food preparation surfaces.
The Longer Record
Statewide, Chick-fil-A's 216 Florida locations have accumulated 4,071 inspections on record, averaging 3.43 violations per inspection and passing 95.83 percent of the time. No Florida location has been emergency-closed this year. That aggregate picture looks clean. The ten locations above tell a more complicated story.
The Florida City location's combination of seven high-severity violations in one visit, including simultaneous failures in management presence, employee health policy, illness reporting, and handwashing, suggests a breakdown across multiple systems at once rather than a single oversight. Each of those failures can exist independently; all four appearing together in a single inspection is a different condition.
The Kissimmee location's citation for food from an unapproved or unknown source is the kind of violation that stands apart from the rest of the list. Food that bypasses USDA and FDA inspection carries no traceability if a customer becomes ill. That violation, combined with food not cooked to the required minimum temperature at the same location, creates a compounding hazard.
Two locations carry the same pattern of a missing person in charge alongside an employee not reporting symptoms of illness: Florida City and Mandarin. CDC data cited in the inspection records notes that establishments without active managerial control produce three times as many critical violations. At both locations, the person who would have enforced the illness reporting policy was either absent or not doing their job.
The Pattern
No consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods appeared at seven of the ten worst locations in this 90-day period. Allergen awareness failures appeared at four locations, including Jacksonville on Lunar Drive, Sanford, Orlando on McKenna Drive, and Fleming Island. Improperly stored or labeled toxic chemicals appeared at five locations.
These are not random isolated incidents at scattered franchises. They are the same violations, in the same categories, appearing at locations from Jacksonville to Kissimmee to Lutz within a single quarter.
The Kissimmee location on Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway was cited for food not cooked to the required minimum temperature. At a chain where the core product is cooked chicken, Salmonella in poultry survives below 165 degrees Fahrenheit, that violation remains unresolved in the public record.
