Los Dos Amigos Salmonella Investigation
The Los Dos Amigos Salmonella outbreak in Roseburg, Oregon, remains under investigation by Douglas County Public Health with tests pending on samples taken from the downtown restaurant.
When the outbreak was first announced April 28, Public Health Division Director Dawnelle Marshall said there were seven confirmed cases of salmonellosis. Yesterday she reported to KPIC News that the number of Los Dos Amigos Salmonella infections now stands at 17.
Marshall told the news station that sampling is pending and results should be available later in the week.
"We've not been able to pinpoint the source, whether that is a food item, whether there is cross-contamination. We have not been able to do that, but we do have sampling that is pending, and those results should be in later this week," Marshall said.
Some ill persons have become very sick, requiring hospitalization. Initial investigation results show that people who became ill at Los Dos Amigos Restaurant on Jackson Street between April 9 and April 17.
Food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen is monitoring the outbreak and has reviewed Douglas County Public Health restaurant inspection records. Interestingly, the downtown location of Los Dos Amigos had a lower score on its most recent inspection (2010) than it did last year.
The score from year to year dropped from 87 to 80 and the number of "critical violations" increased from two to three. Of more than 180 restaurants inspected in Roseburg in 2010, fewer than a dozen had 3 or more "critical violations,'' according to the law firm's review.
Critical violations are more likely to contribute to food contamination and illness than other violations, according to the county restaurant inspection criteria. These include but are not limited to:
- Personal hygiene is inadequate (hand washing, etc.)
- Foods held at improper temperatures.
- Foods are not date-marked or discarded upon expiration.
- Cross-contamination risk
- Food is improperly cooled or reheated.
- Raw animal foods are improperly cooked.
- Food is from unapproved sources or prepared at home.
- Presence of rodents or insects.
If you or a loved one was sickened in the Los Dos Amigos Salmonella outbreak, a food poisoning attorney at Pritzker Olsen could answer your legal questions and provide a free case consultation. You can contact our office by calling 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or by completing the online contact form on the side of this Web page.
Our law firm is one of the few in the country practicing extensively in the area of foodborne illness litigation and we have recovered millions over the years for victims of Salmonella and other food poisoning.
