Took my 91 year old aunt to lunch at an independent Mexican restaurant on

C

cynupstateny

Well-known member
Thursday. Four hours after eating she became violently ill. I followed 24 hours later (maybe because I'm younger and healthier) No one else around us has been ill. I'm thinking food poisoning. Would you notify the restaurant and, if so, what would you say?

 
Yes and if they don't act nice about it, the health department

Her age probably had something to do about how she reacted quicker but it's not uncommon for the bacteria to multiply at different rates in different folks as well as the amount needed in your system before you get sick.

A restaurant that doesn't care and try to be gracious/thankful you warned them means that they need to be turned in to health officials in my opinion.

 
I would definitely talk to the restaurant owner. If you can narrow down what you think

caused it I would follow up with a tip to the health department. It might jive with other problems in your area and point out to a bigger issue with a supplier. You wouldn't necessarily have to name the restaurant.

I hope your aunt is feeling much better! You too, Cyn, of course!!

 
Notify the restaurant, but please keep in mind that four hours is too soon for food poisoning

12 to 24 hours is the norm. I don't think age has a role in it, but I may be wrong.

Sorry to hear you were sick, Cyn, and I hope your aunt and you are both feeling better.

My two cents:

It's possible that you both got sick from the food, but it is also possible that your aunt had a bug and gave it to you.

So definitely let them know but also don't be accusatory. And notify the health department because if it is indeed food poisoning they will have other cases and will need all the information they can get.

 
I so agree Missy! Naturally, the elderly may be the first to be affected, but nevertheless,

it's up to the restaurant to take immediate responsibility even if they were not at fault. They are required to report any and all instances of illnesses resulting from people who have eaten at their establishment to their local health department. It's required protocol and then the local health department takes it from there.

Naturally, senior citizens are more susceptible to any foodborne illnesses, etc. but there's no excuse for them to get sick from eating at a restaurant. Period!!

 
I had a similar reaction to an upscale seafood restaurant...

I was totally fine before I went in, 4 hours later I was hurling and praying to the porcelain gods. I called the restaurant and they said..."oh no, you didn't get sick here, food poisoning takes XX hours...We are innocent, blamless, and guilt free. How dare you call us and insinuate such filth to us..."

I paraphrase, but you get my drift.

Yes, you probably got sick at the restauant, and yes, they will tell you it could not possibly have been them.

MY MISTAKE: I didn't call the food inspectors right then.

If they don't give you satisfaction, call the food inspectors.

 
Further to my comment Cyn, I would call the restaurant and tell them what happened.

(I realize I didn't answer your first question!)

Like I said, they (the restaurant) may not have been the so-called culprits but then there are so many factors such as food handling from their employees, suppliers, how the meals were cooked, etc. I strongly suggest calling the restaurant to make a report on behalf of you and your aunt. The sooner the better. You can be honest and direct and they have to document it. Better late than never. For all you know, they might have caused it and that's a whole kettle of worms that they would have to answer to you and the appropriate health department. It's just like going to a hospital after a car accident to see if there's any internal bleeding, etc. Better safe than sorry I say, and you can approach the restaurant in a very civil and well mannered way to see (like Missy suggested) how they handle your complaint.

Good luck Cyn!

 
yes, there is food poisoning and there is food poisoning....

"If symptoms occur within 1–6 hours after eating the food, it suggests that it is caused by a bacterial toxin or a chemical rather than live bacteria."

From Wikipedia -- certainly the bacterial toxins could have been encountered in a restaurant!

 
Cyn...notify your local health department. They'll go in and investigate. We are required to take a

mandatory health trianing class here if you work in restaurants (it's illegal to serve food without the training and required health permit.) Most of the training is about food safety and proper temperatures, but they make a big point to say that in Mexican restaurants often the problem is in refried beans. That stands out in my mind because they repeated it over and over again.

If you call the health department, they'll go in and investigage. It's especially bad because elderly and those with a compromised immune system are particularly susceptible. And the health department has the power to do something. Also, our local health department posts their findings on the web. It was pretty scarry to see reports from my favorite restaurants--especially the ethnic places.

 
I can relate Richard. Back in the early 80's I spent a night in Wash. DC at a nice

hotel. Had a cheese omelette with mushrooms for breakfast the following morning and went to a very nice and trendy capitol hill hangout called FK's or something like that, that evening. I only sipped half of my first Dewar's on the rocks with a splash of water and had to waddle like a drunk out of there to.... Called a taxi and had to stop him for (you know what). I was sick as a dog and was dizzy and I know what you mean about the porcelain gods! My equilibrium was way off and my travel agent friend drove me back to my south Jersey home the next day and I really got dizzy after going over the simplest of bumps and my illness/dizziness lasted for a full day! I could kick myself now for not at least reporting the incident to the hotel so that perhaps others might be spared!!

 
Traca, what's the problem with the beans? Is it being held at room temp too long? I make them a

lot, what should I watch out for?

 
Many years ago I worked for a Chiro. One of our patients came in after eating at a nice seafood

restaurant. She wasn't feeling too well. She was dead the next morning...food poisoning.

 
As with most improperly handled food, it's more about what you can't see....

you can't see how they cooled down the beans, you can't see how long they've been held, you can't tell if the temperature isn't hot enough to kill the bacteria. I'm not an expert in food saftey but there are a number of factors involved. I think something also has to do with how dense refried beans are and apparently cooling/reheating can be a real problem.

 
Curious, I did some research but only found botulism cases in canned refried

beans. Perhaps the restaurants that Traca mentioned use those but the cause in the many tainted processed canned cases I found were considered "underprocessed." I can't find unsafe homemade refried beans problems after googling.

I'm hoping it's only a rare processed canned recall that we are to be concerned with!

 
You hit the nail on the head Traca and I couldn't have said it better! Here's the link that

I posted regarding TCS (Temperature Control for Safety).

Yes, the restaurants may have been making their own refried beans but not taking food safety seriously and that's just unacceptable and there's no excuse for not being ServSafe certified or adhering to those guidelines if that was the case causing those illnesses!

http://eat.at/swap/forum/index.php?action=display&forumid=1&msgid=97427

 
Because most "homemade cases" don't get reported. This chart specifically calls out

the issue saying that Clostridium Perfringens has an incubation period of 8 to 27 hours (usually 10 hours). It grows rapidly in large portions of food cooled too slowly or kept at room temperature, especially meat or poultry dishes. Present in soil, intestines of animals. Commonly spread if meats or poultry are kept in serving dishes that don't stay hot enough or if large portions are chilled too slowly; also from rice and REFRIED BEANS.

Symptoms: Abdominal pain (sometimes severe) and
diarrhea. Sometimes nausea and vomiting.
Symptoms are usually mild but can be more
severe in the ill and the elderly.

http://www.toronto.ca/health/foodhandler/pdf/foodchart.pdf

 
Great gum shoe work Traca! I'm in FL but my ServSafe book is in Philly

right now and I think your concise Toronto food safety link would serve us well if you were to post it in the Kitchen Tips. I would have to type much too much from my book!

I'm always an advocate of food safety!

 
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