Food poisoning is serious, affecting about one in six Americans every year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that of these cases, there are 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths annually.
Do your research if you what to experience a new restaurant and pay attention to the signs that show you’ve just opened the door to a restaurant that could send you to the emergency room.
1. Red flag: The parking lot isn’t clean
If you get out of your car and you see open dumpsters, trash, and cigarette butts on the grounds, you may want to keep driving, says Ken Rice, a consultant with more than 30 years of experience in the restaurant industry.
Rice says dirty windows and doors are also a obvious sign the restaurant isn’t focused on cleaning, and that may carry over into the areas where your food is prepared.
So, every time you see garbage on the parking lot, you better avoid that restaurant.
