Tag Archives: Food Illnesses

by | October 31, 2016 · 7:40 pm

Mitigating the Risk of Food-Borne Illnesses at Hotels

Think of a hotel located near a stretch of bucolic farmland. Picture the large fields of crops, cows and sheep grazing behind picturesque fences. While this may seem like a calm and relaxing scenario, one that attracts guests eager to get a taste of the country life, they could be getting a mouthful of something much less appetizing. Flies are abundant in areas with livestock, and, unfortunately, can transmit food-borne diseases.

Ron Harrison, Ph.D., a technical services director at pest control specialist Orkin, is currently working with a number of hotels suffering from pest problems, and, as a result, compromised food safety. “Hotels have to do everything they can to ensure that pests don’t enter the property, because they can cause food-related illnesses if they get access to the property’s food supply,” Harrison says.

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Pests are just one of many factors that can affect food safety and spread food-borne illnesses, which are a major issue in the United States. Francine Shaw, president of Food Safety Training Solutions, a company that offers food-related consulting and training services, says that food poisoning affects one in six Americans every year. And, in that same time frame, it also causes the hospitalization of 120,000 people and leads to 3,000 deaths. “It seems like every time we turn on the television, pick up a newspaper, or read the news online, there’s another outbreak. But the amazing thing is that the huge, multi-state outbreaks spotlighted in the news are only responsible for 11 percent of all food-borne illnesses,” she explains.

More on the article: http://bit.ly/2f1XGrZ

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by | December 27, 2013 · 10:45 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: The CDC Lists The “Major Pathogens That Cause Foodborne Illness” In 2013

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by | December 4, 2013 · 7:26 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Restaurant Study By CDC Finds “Widespread Risky Food Handling Practices” In Over 50% Of Kitchens; Failure To Follow FDA Guidance On Preventing Cross-Contamination

“…For the chicken study, EHS-Net researchers interviewed 448 restaurant managers. They found that many were not following FDA guidance Restaurant Kitchen Health Risksabout preventing cross-contamination and cooking chicken properly and that managers “lacked basic food safety knowledge about chicken”…40% of managers said they never, rarely, or only occasionally designated certain cutting boards exclusively for raw meat, and more than 50% said that thermometers were not used to determine the final cooking temperature of chicken. Further, only 43% of managers knew the recommended final cooking temperature…”

A set of studies released this week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and its partners points to widespread holes in restaurant food safety systems, such as risky handling of ground beef and chicken and too-warm shipping temperatures for leafy greens.

Among the key findings, according to the study and a CDC summary:

  • Eighty-one percent of restaurants used subjective measures of hamburger doneness, and 49% said they never checked the final cooking temperature
  • At least two risky handling practices were seen in 53% of restaurants
  • In 62% of restaurants in which workers used bare hands to handle raw ground beef, they did not wash their hands after handling it.
  • Only 1% of restaurants reported buying irradiated ground beef, and 29% were unfamiliar with the product
  • Chain restaurants and those with managers certified in food safety had safer practices than others.

At the same time, the CDC announced plans for a new surveillance system designed to help state and local health departments identify underlying factors that contribute to foodborne disease outbreaks in restaurants and other food service venues.

The research findings, published this week in the Journal of Food Protection, deal with the handling of ground beef, chicken, and leafy greens and with sick food workers.

For more:  http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2013/12/cdc-finds-holes-restaurant-food-safety-systems

http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2013/p1202-food-safety-tools.html

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by | September 30, 2013 · 6:21 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Restaurants Must Make Food Safety A “Core Value”; Lack Of “Hand Washing, Food Holding Temperature Controls” Remain Biggest Risk To Customers

“…Hand washing and proper holding temperatures — the basics of food safety — have not changed in 30 years, said Moore of Eat’n Restaurant Kitchen Health RisksPark. The key is keeping the message fresh so that employees pay attention…with a workforce largely under the age of 25, employers need to make sure their messages are quick and easy to grasp. Moore said he relies on lots of colorful visuals, and customized posters, comics, video clips featuring celebrities, games like Pandemic 2, and stuffed-animal germs and microbes are among his favorites…”

Food safety “needs to be part of your core values,” William Moore, director of safety and security for Eat’n Park Hospitality Inc., the Homestead, Pa.-based parent of the 75-unit Eat’n Park family-dining chain, said during his keynote speech. “If it’s not in your core values, your mission statement, then it’s not a priority.”

The symposium occurred against the backdrop of a Cyclospora outbreak that had sickened 642 people in 25 states, leading to 45 hospitalizations but no deaths, throughout the summer. The cause of the outbreak was still under investigation at press time, although a salad mix from Taylor Farms de Mexico served at Darden Restaurants Inc. in two states had been implicated in about 240 of the illnesses.

Tugging at the heartstrings doesn’t hurt either, said several attendees. Al Baroudi, Ph.D., vice president, quality assurance and food safety for The Cheesecake Factory Inc., the Calabasas Hills, Calif.-based operator of 175 upscale casual-dining restaurants, shows his audiences an image of the hundreds of children and adults that have died during foodborne illness outbreaks to drive home the point that lives are stake.

For more:  http://nrn.com/food-safety/7-steps-ensuring-restaurant-food-safety?page=2

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by | August 3, 2013 · 5:43 pm

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Texas Restaurant Sued By Customer Claiming Sickness From “Cyclospora”; Parasite Traced To Tainted Salad Mix

“…According to her lawsuit, (the plaintiff) dined at an Olive Garden restaurant in Addison, Texas on July 1 and suffered nausea, fatigue and Restaurant Cyclospora Outbreaksdiarrhea a few days later. Tests confirmed that her gastroenteritis was caused by cyclospora, the lawsuit states…Cyclospora is a single-celled parasite that attacks the small intestine, causing diarrhea, loss of appetite, weight loss, stomach cramps, bloating, gas, nausea and fatigue, health officials said…”

A Dallas woman is suing Darden Restaurants, claiming she became sick with the rare parasite cyclospora after she ate at an Olive Garden restaurant.

Suzanne Matteis contracted the severe gastrointestinal sickness in July and tested positive for the parasite, said her attorney, Ryan Osterholm. Nationwide, there are at least 378 confirmed cases of illness from cyclospora in 16 states since mid-June.

On Friday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that cyclospora cases in Iowa and Nebraska have been traced to a tainted salad mix supplied by Taylor Farms de Mexico to Olive Garden and Red Lobster restaurants in those states. Both restaurant chains are owned by Darden Corporation.

For more: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/os-salad-darden-cyclospora-lawsuit-20130803,0,4967942.story

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by | May 22, 2013 · 6:49 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: North Carolina Hotel And Restaurant Sued By Woman “Sickened By Salmonella Infection”; Lawsuit Claims Failure To Maintain Sanitary Conditions Of Food

“…(the plaintiff), who claims to have become ill after eating at the hotel restaurant, filed a lawsuit in the Cumberland County Superior Court Salmonella Enteritidisalleging the hotel owners served food that was ‘not fit for human consumption’…she also alleges that the defendant failed to ‘maintain and monitor the sanitary conditions of it’s food, drink, water, premises and employees’…”

A Fayetteville woman is seeking in excess of $10,000 in damages after she claims she became sick after eating at a restaurant at a Holiday Inn. Last week the Cumberland County Department of Public Health alerted the public of a possible salmonella outbreak after dozens of people claimed to have gotten sick after eating at the Holiday Inn Fayetteville – Bordeaux.

The Cumberland County Department of Public Health says at least 70 people have reported signs or symptoms consistent with salmonella infections and five people were hospitalized. Twelve of those who reported symptoms are out of state. All of the people appear to have eaten at the All American Sports Bar and Grill and The Café Bordeaux within the hotel.

Health officials are worried that the outbreak could spread nationwide because the hotel is alongside Interstate 95.

For more:  http://www.wncn.com/story/22309597/woman-files-lawsuit-against-fayetteville-hotel-linked-to-salmonella-outbreak

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by | May 8, 2013 · 6:10 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Nevada Restaurant Sued After “Salmonella Food Poisoning” Outbreak; “Inadequate Hand Washing, Handling Of Food With Bare Hands, Improper Food Storage” Violations Found

“…health inspectors were sent to the restaurant to investigate…they found multiple violations including: employees handling ready-to-eat food with bare hands, inadequate hand washing by foodhandlers; inadequate or missing cooling and heating logs for food; raw ground beef stored Salmonella Enteritidisover cooked chicken and raw seafood; fruit flies and small moths in the cooking area; and broken cooking thermometers and foods not being held at proper temperatures…”

A Pennsylvania woman has filed a lawsuit against the Firefly on Paradise, a Las Vegas restaurant. She is seeking compensation for allegedly contracting Salmonella food poisoning from the restaurant. She is being represented by Fred Pritzker, Brendan Flaherty and Ryan Osterholm, who are also representing several other people allegedly sickened in the outbreak.  Pritzker, Flaherty and Osterholm are part of PritzkerOlsen law firm’s Bad Bug Law Team.

The firm’s client is one of the 89 people sickened in a Salmonella outbreak associated with the Firefly. She and her husband were visiting Las Vegas in late April. On April 24, they ate dinner at Firefly on Paradise. Two days later, she developed symptoms that included nausea, fever, abdominal cramps and bloody diarrhea. She is still receiving medical treatment.

According to the complaint, those foods include but are not limited to: pork, calamari, garlic in oil, potatoes, tortilla empanada, lettuce, shrimp, mussels, claims, chicken and fish. The restaurant has been closed during the outbreak investigation to reduce the risk to public health.

For more:  http://foodpoisoningbulletin.com/2013/salmonella-lawyers-file-lawsuit-against-firefly-restaurant-in-las-vegas/

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by | April 10, 2013 · 8:20 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Hotel And Restaurant Food Handlers Are The Major Source Of Reported “Foodborne Hepatitis A Outbreaks”; Improved Hygiene And Preventive Vaccinations Lower Virus Transmission

“…the source of most reported foodborne hepatitis A outbreaks had involved infected food handlers, such as those Hepatitis A in Hospitality Industryin restaurants or those who prepare food for social events such as weddings…(workers) who have had possible exposure to Hepatitis A and get the necessary shots within 2 weeks of exposure…will have long-term protection against the virus… people infected with the virus are the most infectious two weeks before they actually become ill (and) can be passing the disease on to other people without even knowing they have it…”

What could be better than dining with friends or family at a popular upscale candlelit restaurant in New York City — a restaurant with an “A” sanitation grade from the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene?

While that’s how the story began for many of the people who ate at Alta restaurant in the West Village from March 23 to April 2, it ended with the jolting news that if they had had dessert during that time period, they should get a shot (and another one 6 months later) to protect themselves against hepatitis A.

The restaurant’s manager, Manny Solano, told reporters that a pastry chef who had traveled to Mexico discovered she had hepatitis A after going to a doctor because she wasn’t feeling well. It turned out she had contracted the virus during her trip south of the border. In the case of a restaurant employee, hepatitis A can be spread to food or surfaces — and from there to people dining or working at the restaurant — if the worker doesn’t follow basic hygiene practices, chief among them washing his or her hands after going to the bathroom.

And while most food handlers with hepatitis A do not transmit the virus to fellow workers or restaurant patrons (based on surveillance data), many hundreds of restaurant workers have hepatitis A every year, according to the article.

The article concludes by saying that reducing foodborne transmission of the virus can be achieved by improving food production and food handler hygiene and by providing preventive vaccinations to people at risk for infection.

For more:  http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2013/04/dessert-followed-by-a-hepatitis-a-shot/#.UWWNA0nn9et

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by | March 11, 2013 · 8:08 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Washington Restaurant Closed For Multiple Health Code Violations That Led To Food Poisoning Outbreak

“…(violations included)…foods not protected from cross contamination, poor personal hygiene practices and Restaurant Health Code Violationsinsufficient handwashing; equipment not properly sanitized, handwashing facilities not working and an imminent health hazard: establishment linked to a foodborne illness outbreak…”

The Ambassel Bar and Restaurant on Jefferson Street in Seattle, Washington has been closed by health authorities after they discovered several health violations and associated it with a food poisoning outbreak. Public information officer for the Seattle and King County Health Department Katie Ross told Food Poisoning Bulletin that they are aware of two cases of E. coli associated with this restaurant in mid-February. She said that both cases were adults. One person was “briefly hospitalized” and both have recovered.

Seattle and King County health authorities closed the restaurant, which serves Ethiopian food, after a number of food safety violations were discovered and patrons who ate at the restaurant became ill.  Five violations were listed on the notification of closure.

Restaurant employees are a contributing factor in more than 65 percent of all foodborne illness outbreaks in the U.S.,  according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).  Bacteria that causes disease can be transmitted directly from an infected food employee through food. That’s why restaurant employee health and personal hygiene are so important.

For more:  http://foodpoisoningbulletin.com/2013/food-poisoning-outbreak-closes-ambassel-restaurant-in-seattle/

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