Posted: August 11th, 2012 - 11:54pm by Doug Powell

The Bella Bottega Sushi Land in Washington State, part of a chain of restaurants that serve sushi on conveyor belts in Oregon and Washington, was closed Thursday and it was apparently worse than the malfunctioning refrigerator, as originally reported.

Katie Ross, a spokesperson from the King County Department of Health told the Redmond Patch the investigation into the conveyor-belt style sushi restaurant was prompted by complaints of foodborne illness that were reported by parties not affiliated with Sushi Land.

“As a result our environmental health divison did an investigation...and the refrigerator was not the only issue,” Ross said. For example, she said, an employee was observed not washing his hands properly.