Pictured above: Common microbes causing food poisoning. Ain't they cute?

From www.healthinspections.com:

The most dangerous states for eating out are Florida, California, Minnesota, Ohio, and New York according to the most recent federal data.

Restaurants in these five states spread bacteria such as E.coli and salmonella, making nearly 3,000 customers sick and putting 65 in the hospital.

For restaurants in Florida and California, this is not good news. It's the third straight year they've topped the list for having the most dangerous restaurants.

Healthinspections.com analyzed data from the Centers For Disease Control to obtain the rankings. Here's how the states stack up for outbreaks of restaurant food poisoning in 2006, the most recent year available.

1. Florida 74 outbreaks

2. California 69 outbreaks

3. Minnesota 55 outbreaks

4. Ohio 54 outbreaks

5. New York 50 outbreaks

The federal numbers also raise questions about food safety practices in restaurants because more and more people are getting sick from eating out.

Across the country, restaurants were responsible for at least 605 outbreaks of food poisoning in 2006, compared to 532 outbreaks in 2005.

After the jump: Florida Restaurants #1 For Making Customers Sick

Healthinspections.com has found that many Florida restaurants – from fast food to fine dining facilities – have long records of serious health code violations.

For example, consider a food poisoning outbreak at a Florida hotel earlier this year.

83 people got sick at the upscale Hilton resort on Singer Island near West Palm Beach. They were hit with Norovirus, a highly contagious stomach bug that causes vomiting and diarrhea.

See the full story here

Got poison? Tell us about it. --GS