Central Florida's dirtiest restaurants: Action 9 answers viewer questions

ORLANDO, Fla. — After reviewing 50,000 inspections of restaurants in Central Florida, Action 9’s Todd Ulrich and retired federal food safety inspector Paul Cook, found some serious issues.

Many restaurants were found to have been cited repeatedly for health code violations.

Ulrich’s report on dirty restaurants left viewers with many questions and on Thursday, he sat down with Cook on Facebook Live to hand out some answers.

One viewer asked for tips on how to tell if a restaurant is bad when you open the door.

Sometimes it’s as easy as walking across the room, Cook said.

“Lots of times, I’ve walked into facilities through the front door and my first impression … you look at the floor,” he said.

If it’s sticky and you can feel it as you walk, that’s a bad sign, he said.

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Another easy way to tell is when you open the menu, he added.

If it’s sticky, “that kind of means we’re lacking in cleanliness here,” he said, adding, “Bathrooms are always a good give away.”

Some people wanted to know what to do when you see a dirty restaurant.

It’s easy, Ulrich said, report them.

A complaint will immediately trigger an investigation.

Another issue Ulrich and Cook touched on was the lack of a grading system in Florida.

Unlike many states, Florida restaurants do not get letter grades for cleanliness.

In the past eight years, there have been at least four times the state legislature considered creating a way to grade restaurants, Ulrich said.

All four times it failed, he said.

One thing we've found is that in Florida, the fine is so minimal … it's easier to pay the fine than to train the staff. -- Action 9's Todd Ulrich

“It truly is the Florida Restaurant Association that does not want grades here,” he said. “And in this tourist-rich state, the Restaurant Association has great power, and they do not feel that the grading system would work.”

If you ask consumer groups or people in states where there is a grading system, “they will argue just the opposite,” Ulrich said. “They think having to put up an ‘F’, even temporarily … has an impact.”

When asked why some restaurants are able to get negative inspections over and over, but remain open, Ulrich said it comes down to finances.

“One thing we’ve found is that in Florida, the fine is so minimal … it’s easier to pay the fine than to train the staff,” he said.

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One viewer asked if it was dangerous to leave chronically dirty restaurant open.

In the case of immediate, critical violations, there are emergency closures, Ulrich said.

The restaurant will remain closed until the issue is resolved and then it can reopen, he said.

“Our investigation shows that beyond that, there is this unfortunate habit that some restaurants get into that they don’t seem to care when they get a failing grade.

“And they can easily pay the fine, and it goes on.”

As the Facebook Live session came to a close, Cook shared the worst violation he’d ever seen as a safety inspector.

He remembered, years ago, watching a restaurant employee wearing gloves go into the bathroom. About 15 seconds later, he saw the same employee come back out, still wearing gloves.

“I questioned him,” Cook said. “I said, ‘Did you wash your hands?’ And he looked at me and said, ‘No, I don’t have to, because I have gloves on.’”

Cox Media Group