A food poisoning outbreak at Carnegie Mellon University Stack’d restaurant has sickened “numerous students,” according to news reports. Stack’d is the university’s on-campus restaurant that is located in the basement of Morewood Gardens Hall. Allegheny County’s Health Department in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is investigating.
The reports state that “numerous students” reported experiencing symptoms that are consistent with food poisoning. The pathogen was not named, and no foods were named. And there was no mention about whether or not any of the students were hospitalized.
The health department inspected the restaurant on Thursday, February 15, 2024, and allegedly found several high and low risk violations of the food code. The problems included temperature maintenance of perishable foods, date marking of food, cleaning, sanitation, and employee personal hygiene. Any of those violations could increase the risk of food contamination with pathogens.
For instance, another news report stated that homemade buffalo sauce was sitting out at an “unsafe temperature,” which means it was in the danger zone of 40°F to 140°F. At that temperature, pathogens can double every 20 minutes. Other violations included food debris and a pink biofilm in an ice machine. Immediate corrective actions were taken, and another inspection on Friday, February 16, 2024 found only one low-risk violation.
In a statement, the University told TribLive that, “University Health Services acted quickly following numerous students reporting symptoms. Upon learning that these students all consumed food from the same on-campus eatery around the same time, the university promptly contacted the Allegheny Health Department to inspect the third-party food vendor and enforce safety protocols.
“The vendor implemented immediate corrective actions and a re-inspection on Friday confirmed proper safety measures. We are working with impacted students as they recover.”
If you have been sickened with a food poisoning infection after eating at Carnegie Mellon University Stack’d restaurant, please contact our experienced attorneys for help with a possible lawsuit at 1-888-377-8900 or text us at 612-261-0856. Our firm represents clients in lawsuits against grocery stores, restaurants, and food processors.
