We all eat fast food. When you don't have time for a prepared meal, when looking for a quick fix, or if you just have that craving, where do we go? We go to a fast food chain such as Burger King, McDonalds, Taco Bell, or KFC, to name a few.
But when we're biting into that juicy burger, chomping on those crispy fries, or slurping that soft drink, do we realize what we're actually eating? Do we notice the repulsing cleaning procedures and the amount of bacteria we're consuming?
Well help is here! Here is a list of the top 10 most germ-filled fast food chains. This is based on a variety of recent studies. Keep in mind that a critical violation is considered by the FDA to be hazardous to your health, and likely to make you sick in some way.
Taco Bell
In these various recent studies, an average of 100 Taco Bell restaurants was sampled to test sanitary conditions. There were found to be 91 critical violations, coming in as the fewest amount in these surveys. These violations were due mostly to dirty food preparation counters and rodent droppings. But hey, if you like some Mexican food, then Olay! Enjoy!
McDonald's
The world's most popular fast food chain, with its famous golden arches came in at 9 on the list. Out of the 100 observed restaurants, 136 critical violations were found. In many more than one of them, an untrained and uncertified food handler was on the job, which is prohibited by law in many U.S. states.
KFC
These 100 KFC restaurants tallied up 157 critical violation and two-thirds of these “finger lickin' good” restaurants had at least 1 violation. At just one KFC there have been 2 cases of salmonella poisoning, both being denied by the franchise owner. That particular restaurant was cited for 4 critical violations.
Subway
Of the 100 Subways, 160 critical violations were found. A common violation in many of them was improper temperatures for storing food.
Jack in the Box
This 100-store collection of Jack in the Box's tallied 164 critical violations. One particular branch in California was reported to be the cause of 3 food borne illnesses.
Dairy Queen
The 100 of these restaurants tallied 184 critical violations. One of these in Virginia had a number of violations due to grime and debris. When revisited by the inspectors, this branch had fixed all of the problems.
Hardees
The 100 Hardees totaled 206 critical violations. Again and again, insects and rodents were found in the restaurants.
Wendy's
This popular fast food chain also had 206 critical violations. But due to the fact that more branches had at least 1, Wendy's is number 3 on the list. At one particular branch in Arizona, inspectors found recurring problems involving food holding temperatures, mice droppings on the shelves, bare hand food contact, and one food borne illness complaint.
Arby's
The 100 Arby's had 210 critical violations. In many Arby's, violations were due to improper hand-washing and bare hand contact with ready-to-eat food.
Burger King
The "King" of critical violations tallied 241. One Virginia Burger King had 14 violations alone. Included in these were things such as grime on the ice chute, uncovered food in the fridge, and one employee using his hands to scoop ice into cups.
The 1000 sampled restaurants tallied 1,755 critical violations. 613 of those were cited at least once. So of the popular fast food chains, 60 percent had problems inspectors considered hazardous to the consumers health.
Next time you need a quick fix, and head down to your local Burger King, Arby's , or McDonald's just remember: The employees may not wash their hands, the food may have been kept at the wrong temperature, and who knows, someone may be forming your burger with their bare hands.
