The Importance of Fast Food Chain Cleanliness

June 14, 2015

Every now and then we hear about a freak story in the news regarding a popular restaurant chain mistakenly leaving an object in their food – a nail in a sandwich (Subway), chicken organ (Popeye’s), syringe (Burger King), and condom (McDonald’s).

So if incidents like the examples above happen, how does that stack up with their cleanliness? NBC Network’s Dateline investigated (undercover) the cleanliness of American’s top 10 food chains. Their list of chains brought them over 750,000 locations. A survey company was then hired to sample 100 restaurants from each chain (1,000 locations in total) spanning 38 states.

Dateline then collected and reviewed local health inspection reports for the year and a half prior on each of those 1,000 restaurants. Some were inspected just once, some more often during that period.

The results were a bit horrifying.

In a Chicago Wendy’s branch, inspectors found a dead rodent decomposing on a rat trap. At a California Taco Bell, someone bit into a taco to find chewing gum. An inspector in Texas found a worm in a Wendy’s salad. At a Hardee’s in Florida, a customer was handed a cup of soda with blood dripping from it. There was blood on her change as well.

Inspectors in other states also found that many kitchens were not properly cleaned after the restaurant closed for the day, allowing mold, bacteria, and other contaminants to spread and grow on different surfaces. Health inspectors cited a Virginia Burger King for 14 separate critical violations: employees not washing their hands, uncovered food in the fridge, grime and debris found on this ice chute, and on the drink machine at the drive-thru widow.

So, what’s the best way to prevent such contaminates from reaching food in the first place? An extensive cleaning by professionals would be a start – decontaminating every surface to ensure bacteria are unable to spread, deep cleaning floors, clearing ice chute’s and other vents, and ensuring machinery near guest seating is up to par.

For a free no-obligation cleaning quote in the Chicagoland area and surrounding Midwest cities, please contact our friendly and knowledgeable staff at Image One Facility Solutions. 630-616-1010.