Will The Real Mexican Style Fast Food Restaurant Please Stand Up
Ever since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued an after-the-fact report about a Salmonella outbreak that sickened 68 people in 10 states and withheld the name of the Mexican-style fast food restaurant chain responsible, the food safety community has been buzzing.
Neither the CDC, nor any health official from any of the 10 states with victims has named the comany, referred to in the CDC’s first and only report on the outbreak, issued January 19, 2012, as Mexican Restaurant Chain A.
The CDC has a case-by-case policy in these matters and generally tries to protect companies from bad publicity by naming them only when the public can use that information to protect their health. Ih this case, neither the CDC nor any of the 10 state health departments involved said anything about the outbreak until it was over. So, in this case, the CDC’s inaction proves its own point. No, the teenager craving a taco in January can’t protect himself from becoming part of an foodborne illness outbreak that happened three months ago, but the teenager in October could have. Unfortunately, none of our public health officials gave him that opportunity.
And what about Restaurant Chain A? Surely Mexican Restaurant Chains B-G must be wondering why Restaurant A has lacked the courage to step up and say, yes, it’s us. Given the rumors of a possible leak later this week by one of the state departments of health, it may be time for Restaurant Chain A to let the public know that their restaurants were linked the Salmonella outbreak and to provide information on any efforts the company is making to prevent future outbreaks.
