The quickest way to get ink in newspapers is to do some place-based rankings. Name the states where you are most at risk while eating out, and you are certain to get some play. That’s what the website www.healthinspections.com found out last Friday when it named "the five most dangerous states for eating out."
The dangerous five are: Florida, California, Minnesota, Ohio and New York. The rankings stem from 2006 data on restaurant-related outbreaks tallied by the Centers for Disease Control. The website said:
Restaurants in these five states spread bacteria such as E.coli and salmonella, making nearly 3,000 customers sick and putting 65 in the hospital.
Restaurants in these five states spread bacteria such as E.coli and salmonella, making nearly 3,000 customers sick and putting 65 in the hospital.Labeling these five states as the "most dangerous" does not mean you’re safe eating out in any of the other 45. Its no surprise that mega states like California, Florida and New York are on top of any most list. Medium-sized states like Minnesota and Ohio well might want to review the job they are doing if they end up on a worst list.
As for the website, we don’t know anything about who is behind it, but it is a quick way to connect to the online world of restaurant inspection reports and for that reason alone, it’s a handy reference.