Chandler mom banned from McDonald's over play areas now working with Chuck E. Cheese's, Peter Piper Pizza
A Chandler mom who was banned from McDonald’s after she made national news when swab tests of restaurant play areas showed life-threatening pathogens has partnered with another national, kid-friendly chain.
Erin Carr-Jordan, who six years ago began testing restaurant play areas, announced in February 2017 a partnership between her Kids Play Safe organization and Chuck E. Cheese's and Peter Piper Pizza.
The chain restaurants, owned by CEC Entertainment Inc., and with more than 600 restaurants nationwide, has agreed to a set of cleaning practices to earn a Kids Play Safe certificate.
To earn the certificate, restaurants must:
- Clean the kids play area every eight-hour shift, although Chuck E. Cheese's has agreed to an hourly wipe down of play machines.
- Use an eco-friendly product when cleaning throughout the business.
- Maintain the safety of the equipment kids use.
Things To Do app: Get the best in events, dining and travel right on your device
Parents gain 'comfort'
Carr-Jordan said the certification provides parents “an extra level of comfort” when turning their kids loose to play.
The mom of four quit her job as an associate dean at Kaplan University last year to devote herself to expanding Kids Play Safe. Her hope is that this is just the beginning and other restaurants, hotels, gyms and theme parks will adopt the certification process.
“As a parent, if I were taking my kids to these places, I would want to know they're not crawling around on chemicals and in a place that hasn't been cleaned," she said. "We wanted a check and balance for parents."
Chuck E. Cheese's and Peter Piper restaurants started more than a year ago working with Carr-Jordan to identify a green cleaning product, said Ami Anderson, CEC Entertainment senior director of advertising and media. One of the restaurant's core values is safety, she said.
Over the past year, Chuck E. Cheese's introduced a new character into its show called "Carl Clean," that touts the benefits of being clean. A sign in the bathroom carries the Kids Play Safe logo and “communicates to moms about our new environmentally safe cleaner," she said. CEC Entertainment has a contract with Kids Play Safe for two years.
"(Carr-Jordan) is going to be checking and monitoring that things are on the up and up," Anderson said. "This is not a one and done."
Kids Play Safe initiative is "self-funded," according to Carr-Jordan.
Green company formed
After visiting a Phoenix-area indoor playground at a fast-food restaurant, Carr-Jordan began a crusade in 2011 of visiting more than 70 fast food restaurants in Arizona and other states. She crawled around the equipment, sometimes posting what she found on YouTube, other times collected samples and having them tested at a local laboratory. She partnered with Annissa Furr, a Valley professor with a Ph.D. in microbiology with a focus in medical immunology.
Together, they attempted to put in place state regulations to assure safer indoor play spaces. They met with some success in Arizona. The Maricopa County Board of Health in 2013 adopted regulations and guidelines requiring restaurants to keep play areas clean. They weren't as successful in Illinois and California.
From legislation to certificates
Carr-Jordan said along the five-year journey, they decided to approach the issue from a less combative stance and work on partnering with companies that want safe play areas. The women founded KPS Consulting, which is an eco-consulting business that works to vet and test green cleaning products for effectiveness.
"That was part of how we evolved," she said. "It was, how can we positively play a role as we were educating ourselves along the way? Green became a space that made a lot of sense. It has always been our intent to maintain and protect kids health and safety."
MORE AZCENTRAL ON SOCIAL: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest
Reach the reporter at sonja.haller@arizonarepublic.com. Follow at twitter.com/sonjahaller.