Detroit Restaurant Served Expired Chicken, Health Department Says

DETROIT — A Detroit restaurant has voluntarily closed its doors after being cited with numerous health department violations, the city said.

The Detroit Health Department issued violations to the Church's Famous Fried Chicken restaurant located at 2928 East 7 Mile Road after the restaurant reportedly failed to comply with the requirements of the Michigan Food Law, the city said.

Health inspectors from the city found several violations after a complaint was issued on Thursday alleging spoiled food was being served to customers. The city said those violations included finding seven cases of expired chicken and seeing the expired chicken being cooked and with "appearance and odor indicative of spoilage," the city said.

Here is what else was found by the health department, according to a department health advisory:

• A food employee with gloves discarding expired chicken then returned to prepare food with the same gloves
• An employee used the same batter and flour mixture for preparing both the expired and fresh chicken
• The fryers area was seen with an accumulation of food and grease debris
• Raw chicken was thawed in standing water
• The shelving in the walk-in cooler was sfound with food debris
• The shelving in the walk-in cooler with rust, broken and missing floor tile

The restaurant discarded and denatured with bleach the expired chicken with investigators on-site, according to the city. The health department said it will return to conduct a follow-up inspection prior to reopening.