Kim’s public health blog

Foodborne diseases cause an estimated 76 million illnesses in the U.S. each year with about half associated with restaurant meals. More than 70 billion meals per year are purchased in restaurants in the U.S., accounting for 47% of total food expenditure.
Eating out can be dangerous to your health. There are insufficient resources in most communities for frequent inspections by the local healtrh department. The public has to support them by watching what happens in the restaurant. Are the server’s nails short? Is their clothing clean? Is the restaurant clean? Is the hot food served hot? Are the servers ensuring that one plate does not touch the food on another? Is the serving-ware clean?
Does you state have a food service web site which you can visit to check on inspection outcomes before you visit? For an example look at the Virginia Department of Health’s food service web site.