How Safe Are Your Favorite Restaurants?

[Ivan Seeking]

How safe are your favorite restaurants?

Dateline correspondent shares story behind ranking of popular chains' food safety

I don't know about you, but, I love going out for a big pancake breakfast with my family on a weekend morning. And it's fun to drop in for a bite at a place like Chili's, Outback or Applebee's for some steak or ribs. In the Thompson house, we all love to eat!

So when we decided to take a look at food handling and cleanliness at family dining restaurants, I was expecting we'd turn up a pretty clean bill of health. Instead, I was stunned at what we found...
...
Total critical
violations

Waffle House 594
Ruby Tuesday 514
IHOP 513
TGIF 490
Applebee’s 446
Outback 418
Chili’s 402
Red Lobster 350
Bob Evans 315
Denny’s 296


Note: Based on a survey of 1,000 restaurants, 100 from each of the 10 largest casual restaurant chains in the nation, from Jan. 1, 2003 to March 1, 2004. Source: Dateline NBC
[continued]

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6083318/

 

[Monique]

I'm surprised it's possible to make 600 violations how's that?

 

[russ_watters]

What, precisely is a "critical violation?"

Monique, that's per hundred restaraunts.

 

[Moonbear]

What, precisely is a "critical violation?"

Monique, that's per hundred restaraunts.

From the article:

Then, it took months to read and decipher those reports to pull out what inspectors call "critical violations." In English, those are health violations that can make you sick. Things that fall in that category are letting food sit out too long, not washing your hands after going to the bathroom and then serving food, rats and roaches in the kitchen.

Somehow, it just doesn't surprise me. I've known people who waited tables in some of those chains, and about the only difference between them and fast food in terms of cleanliness is that you can't actually see into the kitchen in these chains to realize just how bad it is.

 

[Evo]

I remember eating at a Pizza Hut once and I saw the waiter drop a pizza, it landed upside down. He didn't see me watching. He scooped all of the toppings up off the floor, rearranged them on the pizza, sprinkled a bit of cheese on top, warmed it then served it to the table next to me.

Of course I told them before they started eating.

 

[Gokul43201]

I remember eating at a Pizza Hut once and I saw the waiter drop a pizza, it landed upside down. He didn't see me watching. He scooped all of the toppings up off the floor, rearranged them on the pizza, sprinkled a bit of cheese on top, warmed it then served it to the table next to me.

Of course I told them before they started eating.

Holy ravioli !

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I would bet that hotels should be added to the list of questionable food handlers. I got food poisoning at a hotel a couple of years ago. The bellhop told me that a young chef used meat that had sat out most of the previous day.

 

[Krazie]

I work at restaurant, and many times my manager and the assistant managers have told me to serve food after I have droped it on the floor. Usually it is bacon or sausage before I cook it. They tell me to just put it on the stove and it will kill the germs, but what about the dirt that it picks up off of the floor. I refuse every time this happens. They always look very mad. We have a big shrinkage problem in my store. The managers get bonuses the months that no shrinkage occurs. I guess that is not so bad though. They never tell me to serve something that has been droped on the floor after I have cooked it. But most people at my job touch the food without washing their hands. Sometimes right in front of customers. Their is this one ladie that NEVER washes her hands. It is pretty sick. I have never seen anyone complain though. Although I have only worked their for 6 months.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

you get what you pay for I guess, I'm surprised denny's was the best, I do like their grandslams. I bet george webbs would be number one if they reviewed it

 

[BoulderHead]

Upsetting the cook is something I don't recommend. As for cockroaches the old saying goes; what no kill you fatten you.