More than 80 per cent of fast food franchises in a Lower Mainland health region were handed a critical health violation at least once over the past three years, according to a review of provincial health inspection data by CTV News.

The most common problems, according to records: unrefrigerated food, improper handwashing, and equipment that wasn't cleaned properly.

Fraser Health's director of health protection, Tim Shum, whose inspectors check the region's restaurants, says routine inspections are necessary to protect public health and make sure owners are abiding by regulations.

"We want to ensure that they're providing safe food to the public and they're providing clean and sanitary conditions," he said.

The health authority describes a critical violation as one that if not corrected in a timely manner could contribute to a food-borne disease outbreak.

Health officials are concerned that some violations could lead to an outbreak like what happened in 2008 at a Harvey's in North Bay, Ontario. There, dozens of people reportedly became sick with E. coli because onions were sliced on equipment suspected to be dirty.

In the Lower Mainland, some health violations are described by health inspectors in the records as more concerning: the McDonald's on 8876 Luckakuck Way in Chilliwack was found with expired milk, and handed a violation of "food unfit for human consumption" on July 29, 2009.

Another McDonald's restaurant at 23981 Dewdney Trunk Road in Maple Ridge was found with algae in its ice machine, leading to a violation of "food unfit for human consumption" on May 15, 2008. The same restaurant was also given a critical violation on November 19, 2009 for have a dishwasher that didn't reach sanitizing temperatures.

The records show that those violations were fixed on the spot by inspectors. No other fast food chain whose records were reviewed by CTV News was given a violation of "food unfit for human consumption."

CTV News also ranked the fast food chains based on the number of critical violations per inspection. An average restaurant in the Fraser Health region received about 66 critical violations per 100 restaurants.

The biggest fast food chain in the region, McDonald's, received the most average violations of any chain: about 66 critical violations per 100 restaurants. That means customers were as likely to be exposed to a health violation at a McDonald's as they would be at an average restaurant.

The chain told CTV News in a statement that it has "very strict food safety policies and procedures and based on recent inspections, all McDonald's restaurants in the region are in full compliance with Fraser Health standards."

The chain added that any violation, critical or non-critical, is immediately corrected. Fraser Health inspectors also told CTV News that they would return for a follow-up inspection at any restaurant until such a violation was corrected.

A & W had about 65 critical violations per 100 inspections, followed by Dairy Queen at about 56. Taco Time and KFC tied with about 54 critical violations per 100 inspections, followed by New York Fries at about 51, Wendy's at about 44, and Church's Chicken at about 36.

The chain with the lowest rate of violations was Burger King, with some 13 violations per 100 inspections.

Burger King was pleased about the ranking but decided not to comment on-camera.

Other restaurant chains contacted by CTV expressed a desire to do better in the rankings. Dairy Queen and Church's Chicken did not comment by press time.

Tim Shum told CTV News that it's not unusual for a restaurant to have a violation, but in most cases restaurateurs correct a problem if it's discovered.

"The vast majority of restaurants are actually really good restaurants," he said. "Over 95 per cent of the restaurants received a low-hazard rating."

With a report from CTV British Columbia's Jon Woodward and Mi-Jung Lee