Health Law

Salmonella Outbreak in Kenosha County, Wisconsin

By Drew Falkenstein

Kenosha News online reports that a Salmonella outbreak has occurred at a County restaurant called the Baker Street Restaurant & Pub at 6208 Green Bay Road.  The health department has temporarily shut the restaurant down.    

Tricoli Restaurants, which owns the Baker Street Restaurant & Pub has taken a novel approach to public relations in the wake of the outbreak . . . apparently complete honesty.  The Kenosha News article quotes Tom Stemple, an employee of Tricoli Restaurants, acknowledging despite the health department's reluctance to say why it has closed the restaurant down, "that 10 to 18 people who ate at the restaurant were sick with the bacterial infection and owner Lou Tricoli was contacting all of his Baker Street employees to get them tested for salmonella poisoning."

My guess is that Tom Stemple's approach will probably save his company some money, earned in goodwill, by preventing his ill customers from calling us.  Stemple also said, referring to Tricoli Restaurant's owner, 'He's gathering everyone together, trying to interview them to help find out the source of this.  He's trying to sort things out so that he can help protect everyone —his employees and the public.'

My only advice is to also allow the health department to do its job, and investigate the cause of the outbreak on its own.  In any event, and regardless of Tricoli Restaurants PR strategy, this is another in a long list of Salmonella outbreaks that have occurred this year.  See Salmonella:  the year in review . . . so far. 

Full post as published by Food Poison Blog on July 14, 2010 (boomark / email).