Was Food Contaminated At Chipotle Or Before It Got There?
As we said in our last post, we always do appreciate local media doing follow-up stories, especially when it involves an outbreak. The Akron Beacon Journal is staying on the norovirus outbreak at the Kent, Ohio Chipotle Mexican Grill. More than 400 Chipotle customers got sick.
The Ohio newspaper spoke to both City Health Commissioner John Ferlito and the spokesman for the Ohio Department of Health.
'It was definitely a norovirus outbreak,'' Ferlito said Monday. ''It looks like people ingested it through the food. How it got into the food, I can't ascertain at this moment.''
Results of the food tests -- made available Monday by the state health department -- came up negative for fecal coliform, a bacteria often found in human waste, Ferlito said.
Ohio Department of Health spokesman Kristopher Weiss said there is no specific test for norovirus in food.
But, he said, ''if we were to find fecal coliforms, it would be indicative of fecal contamination, which can lead to norovirus and other illnesses.''
Test also were negative for four other types of bacteria linked to gastrointestinal illnesses: salmonella, staphyloenterotoxin, shigella and E.coli.
Ferlito said it remains unclear whether the food was contaminated in Kent or before it got to the restaurant
Using fecal coliform test results as an indicator for norovirus contamination in food is a new twist. I am curious as to whether there is any scientific validity to the presumed association.
If the food was contaminated before it got to Chipotle, there be a lot of sick customers at other establishments with the same food sources.
It appears that Health Commissioner Ferlito needs either better outbreak investigators on his staff, or better PIO advice.