One day after news reports went public with the North Carolina health department’s final report on a Salmonella outbreak in Fayetteville, management of the hotel named in the report as the source of the outbreak says: it wasn’t us. “While we respect the North Carolina Department of Health & Human Services’ report and investigation, we do not agree with the speculative findings and conclusions contained within the report,” Scooter Deal, a manager at the hotel told WRAL.com. “The state was not able to determine the precise cause of the outbreak, and we are continuing our own investigation to ascertain any and all potential causes.”
Over 100 people were sickened with salmonellosis and eight were hospitalized in the outbreak, which was first announced in May 2013 by the Cumberland County Health Department. The report states that “the source of the outbreak was the All American Grill within the Holiday Inn Bordeaux. However, a specific food item could not be implicated during the investigation. One likely reason a specific food item was not identified as the vehicle in this outbreak was cross-contamination of food products or surfaces in the restaurant.”
During site visits to the hotel after the outbreak was announced, health inspectors found a number off problems including: improper water temperatures, lack of soap and paper towels at a handwashing sink, bare-hand contact with ready-to-eat foods, temperature violations, and a dishwasher that wasn’t functioning properly.
Twenty nine of the case patients were members of the hotel staff, the other 71 were patrons of the hotel or hotel’s restaurant. Health authorities and hotel management disagree about what, if any, role ill workers played in the outbreak. “The restaurant would not allow an employee to continue working while ill, and the hotel has no knowledge or information to suggest that any employee continued to work while he or she was ill,” Deal told WRAL. “Most importantly, any potentially ill employees have not been determined to be the cause of the outbreak.”
But, according to the final report, seven employees did work when they were ill, even after they were told to stay home.”Despite communication from management recommending staff stay home while ill until asymptomatic for 24 hours, records show that some staff continued to work while ill. According to the North Carolina Food Code Manual, food employees with diarrheal illness must be excluded from work until he/she has been asymptomatic for at least 24 hours (2-201.13(A)(1)(a)), but sick leave policies may be a barrier if workers are not compensated while being excluded from work due to illness.” The report’s conclusion states that “failure to adhere to guidance requiring exclusion of ill food handlers may have played a role in facilitating ongoing contamination in the facility.”
