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Health & Fitness

Burger Bash and Foodborne Illness

With several individuals suffering from symptoms related to foodborne illness after attending the Burger and Beer Bash in Valhalla NY, the event needs to be further investigated to determine a root cause to the reported outbreak. A few preventive measures immediately come to mind:

1.     Was there a Sanitarian at the event from the Westchester County Department of Health or a contracted 3rd party health inspector monitoring how the food was prepared/stored/served and documenting their findings in a report?

2.     Was a consumer advisory posted warning people that consuming raw or under cooked ground beef can cause a foodborne illness? If there was, all bets for attempting any litigation for responsible parties may be off. It is pretty much a disclaimer stating that you eat at your own risk.

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3.     Were any temperature logs used? Recorded documentation of beef burgers being cooked to an FDA recommended 155Ffor 15 seconds would be helpful. But…more often than not those logs get dry docked and the information is fabricated. Who knows? Did those cooks even have thermometers?

4.     Did a sick individual prepare any of the food?

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5.     Where was the food sourced from? Were any records kept to help with traceability?

The News 12 report I saw had a brief shot of the event, it looked crowded and the people preparing the food looked rushed. When people are rushed as they cook, there is a tendency to undercook products, especially to meet demand. News 12 made mention that the purveyors thought they had enough ice. But was it enough to keep the food and raw ground beef at 41F or under on a warm day in June? Hand wash stations were also reportedly set up, but were they used appropriately? I did see glove use in the piece (were they changed as needed?), however the lack of hair restraints, no sanitizer buckets set up, hot and sweaty cooks working in an enclosed close quarters is clearly shown in the news 12 report.

From what I understand the symptoms, food items and onset time could be indicative of 2 pathogenic culprits; Salmonella or Shigella. If Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli were the issue, we would be talking about a possibility of kidney failure, a scary thought. Both Salmonella and Shigella share common characteristics:

·        Symptoms-nausea, fever, vomiting, abdominal pains and diarrhea.

·        Onset time-6 hours to 7 days lasting 2 to 3 days (depending on treatment)

·        Common foods-Undercooked animal proteins, dairy products (Shell eggs is the leading source of Salmonella) and ready-to eat foods.

·        Both are Bacterial Infections and Classified as 2 of the “Big 5 Pathogens” by the FDA, transmitted through cross contamination and contaminated food handlers.

·        Prevention is through-Proper cooking and holding temperatures and proper handwashing.

Only time, emerging evidence and stool samples will tell the tale

Tracking the source of a foodborne illness is a difficult task. It is not always the last thing you ate that got you sick. A lot of differing variables come into play. However in this case, the commonality and number of the victims points to this festival. The source of the contamination will be a mystery unless there is some good research and follow up.

Food is an important and enjoyable part of people’s lives, what some individuals need is a heightened sense of awareness when it comes to food safety.

I wish the victims a speedy recovery and no lingering negative health effects and the Westchester County Health Department and the businesses involved the ability to figure this out, so it does not happen again in the near future.

Two foodborne illness outbreaks in the county within a couple of months is a disturbing trend.

 

David Walpuck  CP-FS

Foodsafetystories.com





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