Arizona Mother Takes Fight Against Fast-Food Playgrounds To Capitol
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - An Arizona mom who's on a mission to clean up dirty fast-food restaurant playgrounds across the country could be seeing her first big win in California.
Armed with a cell phone and swabs, "Kids Play Safe" founder Dr. Erin Carr-Jordan captured the gunk and funk on tape at one restaurant playground. As bad as it looked, what you can't see was even worse.
"Meningitis and gonorrhea," she said. "We found coliforms which is indicative of fecal matter."
Disgusting, unhealthy - but far from the only filthy fast food playground. Carr-Jordan swabbed a McDonald's playplace in Sacramento at Northgate and Interstate 80.
The results were unsettling.
Swabs showed high levels of bacteria -- coliforms and gram rods that indicate the likely presence of E-coli and STDs, even though a representative for this McDonald's tells CBS13 the playplace is sanitized daily.
"It's appalling that there is no regulation," Carr-Jordan said.
But now Assemblyman Michael Allen (D-Santa Rosa) is introducing legislation for minimal cleaning standards.
"It just seemed too obvious to me we'd want these findings to get implemented into law," he said.
"I think it's fantastic," said Carr-Jordan, who has a Ph.D in educational psychology.
But the proposed legislation is drawing fire from the California Restaurant Association.
"This bill as it stands essentially asks the restaurateur to be french fry police," Daniel Conway said.
They question why it's fast food under fire.
"I think then there's a much broader conversation that we should be having about playgrounds at malls, at gyms, at airports, let alone public schools and public parks," Conway said.
The legislation passed the Assembly Health Committee on Tuesday, but it's just the first step in a long process this determined and devoted mother has waited years to see.
"The sooner we can get the bill moving forward, the sooner we'll have fewer who get sick and more kids enjoying their lives," Carr-Jordan said.
