A Salmonella outbreak was declared after people started getting sick after eating at Hacienda Don Villo, a Mexican restaurant in Channahon, Illinois.shortly after eating in mid-September and required several hospital visits.
Over 34 people have complained of stomach pain after eating at the restaurant, according to Philip Jass, Health Administrator with the Grundy County Health Department. The county has completed the first round of Salmonella testing on employees of the restaurant. One employee tested positive for Salmonella poisoning.
Restaurants are legally responsible for illnesses linked to their food. Whether the food was contaminated prior to reaching the restaurant or at the restaurant does not change their duty to provide safe food.
The county is also having stool samples from people reporting illness tested for Salmonella bacteria. If positive, Salmonella isolates are being sent to the Illinois Department of Public Health for DNA testing called pulsed-field gel electrophoreses (PFGE). Isolates with matching DNA fingerprints indicate that the same source caused the illness, explains Osterholm, who has used PFGE results in lawsuits against restaurants.
