If you suspect a restaurant made you ill, reporting it helps health departments spot outbreaks early. Here's how.
What to do
- Note what you ate, where, and when symptoms started.
- Report it to your local health department — in New York City, that's 311 or the DOHMH; other cities have their own complaint lines.
- If symptoms are severe or persistent, seek medical care.
One report can prompt an inspection that catches a problem affecting many people. Even if you're not certain, reporting the details you have is useful.
How this connects to inspections
Complaints can trigger health-department inspections, which then show up in the public record. In New York City, Radius also surfaces related complaint and rodent context where the city publishes it.