Yelp Reviews Help NYC Health Department Find and Close Dirty Restaurants

An anonymous reader writes with news about a study that investigated the effectiveness of Yelp reviews in pinpointing the source of foodborne illnesses. "In 2012, New York City's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) found that residents weren't turning to the city's free 311 service to make such complaints, but rather they were reporting their experiences in Yelp reviews. So the CDC, in collaboration with the New York City DOHMH, Yelp, and Columbia University, conducted a nine-month long research into the effectiveness of using online reviews to identify sources of foodborne illnesses. The study discovered 468 actionable complaints, 97% of which hadn't been officially reported to the city, and analyzed roughly 294,000 Yelp restaurant reviews. Subsequent investigations on suspected restaurants turned up evidence of bare-handed food handling, cross-contamination, or even the presence of mice and cockroaches. The study concluded that providing the public with more options for reporting complaints about restaurants, particularly in the social media sphere, would help in the identification and possible closure of sources of foodborne illnesses."

Mice and Cockroaches?

[MightyYar]

Vermin in NYC? Surely not!

Slashdot (One Star)

[puddingebola]

Slashdot (One Star): Don't eat here! Most of the patrons and staff smelt of B.O., like they had been working for days on some late night software project. None of them had shaved or bathed in days. Food came directly out of a vending machine down the hall, same for the beverage choices. Menu items included Pop Tarts, Doritos, Coke, Pepsi, Dr. Pepper. When I complained about the 3 inch roach in the break room I was told, "That's our mascot, Chubby."

Social Media Outreach

[T.E.D.]

This sounds like a good idea to me. But if they are going to start using social media, why not take it one step further and actually post their inspections as "reviews" on Yelp? Send tweets out when they shut a place down. ("Shutting down @LaSemonlia for falsely labeling as "Chicken Quesadilla" their cucaracha surprise. #NoBueno")