GREENSBORO, N.C. — You bite into that sandwich and……yuck, something isn’t right. It’s not just that it doesn’t taste good, it’s more than that. Maybe the meat is raw and it shouldn’t be, maybe there is a hair in the food, or worse, a bug.
What do you do in this situation? A common response is to take a picture of it to document what you're seeing. That's good, but your next step should not be to post it on social media.
The next step is to alert the manager of the place you're eating. The typical response, the restaurant replaces the dish with a new meal and often times refunds the money.
What if you think the issue needs more attention? Like from the health department?
“If you have questions about food safety, speak to the manager, and then contact us at the health department and we'll do an assessment and investigate. We're required to respond to that complaint in 24 hours if it's a foodborne complaint that included diarrhea or vomiting, and within seven days if it is a sanitation concern,” said Eva Robert, Guilford County Environmental Health.
Here's the thing, if you only post your bad food experience on social media, you might keep others from going there but the health department doesn't recognize that as a formal complaint and won't investigate.
Emailing the TV station doesn't get the health department out to the restaurant either. So, take pictures, save your receipts and contact your health department. You can even do it while you’re at the restaurant. It’s all online.
Guilford County Public Health: 336-641-7777