Fast-food restaurant playgrounds under the microscope - bacteria

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http://www.denverpost.com/nationworld/ci_18919817

GILBERT, Ariz. --- One of those who slithered her way through the

multihued plastic tubes of a fast-food restaurant playground here one

recent morning was not enjoying herself in the least.

" It's bad, " M. Carr-Jordan said, swab in hand, as she collected

samples from a surface that she would later deliver to a lab for

microbial testing.

Carr-Jordan, a child development professor and mother of four from

Chandler, has visited dozens of restaurant playgrounds in 11 states in

recent months to test them for cleanliness.

What the inspections and lab analyses have revealed is the widespread

presence of an array of pathogens, from coliform bacteria to

staphylococcus, at levels that experts said indicated that restaurants

might not be disinfecting their playlands as diligently as they should....

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