McDonald's franchisee bans crusading mom

• Tweet

PHOENIX, Oct. 27 (UPI) -- A Phoenix-area woman who publicized bacteria she found in play areas at local McDonald's has been banned from some of the restaurants.

A lawyer for a franchisee who owns eight restaurants in the area sent Erin Carr-Jordan a letter telling her she could be charged with criminal trespass if she is found on the premises, KPHO-TV reported.

Carr-Jordan, a professor at Arizona State University who lives in Chandler, said she began her campaign after visiting a McDonald's in Tempe in May. She said she let her children use the PlayPlace in the restaurant and then discovered it was dirty and covered with obscene graffiti.

Her first step was to take pictures and video and make a complaint about the conditions and then, when no change was made, to post the video on YouTube. In July, she swabbed the play area for bacteria.

The lab results showed "incredibly high levels of bacteria that are considered opportunistic -- in other words they seek out the immune systems of people like children," she said.

At the time, the franchisee, Shane Thompson, apologized to her and said he was taking steps to clean up the play area.