Dr. Timothy F. Jones of the Tennessee Department of Health and Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville used data from telephone surveys of 2,000 adults in Tennessee in 2006 and found 97 percent were aware that restaurants were inspected regularly.

However, more than 50 percent believed that inspections occurred from 5 to more than 12 times per year, when in reality restaurant inspections occur twice a year.

When asked how often restaurants should be inspected, 9 percent thought restaurants should be inspected twice a year; but 53 percent believed inspections should occur about 12 times per year.

Tennessee restaurant inspectors use a 44-item checklist with a total possible score of 100 for best performance. Respondents were asked what score would be the lowest acceptable for a restaurant at which they would eat.

The study, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, found 77 percent said a score of 80 or greater of whom, 45 percent said more than 90.

However, of Tennessee's 168,000 inspections, the mean score was 82 with one-third of all restaurants scoring higher than 90.