According to news reports, the Thanksgiving outbreak at Golden Ponds restaurant in Greece, New York has now sickened more than 260 people. There is no word yet on the pathogen that caused these illnesses.
Stool samples and food samples are at the New York State Department of Health in Albany is conducting the tests. It has been more than three weeks since the outbreak was first reported.
People who have been sickened in this outbreak have experienced violent diarrhea. At least two of those patients have been hospitalized because their illnesses were so serious. There is still no news on the outbreak from the Monroe County Department of Health, and requests for information have gone unanswered.
Initially, about 80 people reported to the health department that they got sick after eating at Golden Ponds on Thanksgiving Day. Those 80 people also reported that other members of their family who joined them at that meal were sickened as well, bringing the total up to 260. And those sickened all said they had the same symptoms.
One of our food safety attorneys said, “Restaurants have a legal obligation to sell their customers food that is safe to eat. This is a very large outbreak, and it may be larger than reported since most people do not contact public health officials when they get sick after dining out.”
The restaurant was inspected on November 1 and November 16, 2016, 23 days and 8 days before the outbreak occurred. Inspection reports from the earlier inspection revealed some disturbing conditions at the facility, including insect and rodent presence and food contact surfaces that were not cleaned and sanitized after each use. But none of those violations were deemed critical at the time of the inspection. The restaurant was closed by the health department on November 25, 2016, after reports of illness started coming in.
Several pathogens can cause these types of food poisoning symptoms, including norovirus, Salmonella, E. coli, and Campylobacter. If you were sickened in this outbreak, contact our experienced lawyers for help to protect your legal rights.