Posted on 12/16/2006 8:10:45 AM PST by blam
300 now report illness after eating at Indianapolis Olive Garden
By CAROL DRUGA
Associated Press Writer
Published December 15, 2006, 2:44 PM CST
INDIANAPOLIS -- More than 300 people say they became ill, and at least three have been hospitalized, after eating at an Olive Garden restaurant last weekend, health officials said Friday.
The restaurant on Indianapolis' north side was closed temporarily while health officials and the company investigate what caused customers to complain of nausea, vomiting, fever and diarrhea, a company spokesman said.
Steve Coe, a spokesman for the Orlando, Fla.-based chain of Italian restaurants, said health officials are focusing on an employee who had flu-like symptoms similar to those patrons complained of after eating there.
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
I got food poisoning last week after eating at the China Buffet -- but I did not report it to the CDC. (Food poisoning seems too common at Chinese food buffets to report.)
Pretty much. Say what you want about those places, but their consistent mediocrity is why those places are packed out every Friday and Saturday night across America.
Gloves are a pain in the ass to cook with. How many cooks at nicer (upscale casual and better) restaurants do you think wear gloves. And I'll clue you in on something else, fast food aren't the only type of restaurants that employ illegal immigrants. One of the most talented and organized saute cooks I have ever had the privilege of working with was undocumented. I don't think that most of America is ready for what things will actually cost if all illegals were deported.
I am wondering the same thing too because stomach flue is going strong here in the Indy ares.....
Gloves don't help if the same gloves are worn for the whole shift. I've watched food workers wear gloves into the bathroom and still be wearing them as they walk out of the bathroom.
That's what I said. The gloves have to be removed and changed every time the worker moves from one area of work to the next, or moves back into the general work area from outside of it (like the restroom, or home, or the dining area of the facility, or sweeping and picking up the litter in the parking lot, or emptying the trash bins, etc., etc., etc.).
They also have to wash their hands upon arrival at work and after any time their bare hand has touched anything, before that hand touches anything else in the entire work area - a locker door handle, a fryer basket handle, a freezer door handle, etc., etc., etc.
Hospitals have begun to adopt these kind of standards with respect to patient care and are drastically reducing the rates of infections acquired after admission.
With increased rates of the admission of people into the country from countries where neither water, waste or immunization health standards come near to ours, the food service industries have to start operating like hospitals in the area of preventing the spread of pathogens from the workers. If they don't, the Taco Bell and Olive Garden stories will be very small beginnings of much larger problems.
Employees Must Wash Hands After Using Toilet.
Everyone else use as much toilet paper as you want.
Finally, we hit one at the right time and decided to give it a try. I was underwhelmed to say the least. I'll take Outback, Chilis and even Applebees over an Olive Garden anytime.
"Gloves are a pain in the ass to cook with. How many cooks at nicer (upscale casual and better) restaurants do you think wear gloves."
Eleven of the 12 cooks at the 12 resturants I frequented most often in Manhattan (now reduced to eleven).
I could care less if someone is a citizen or an immigrant, if I like their cooking. I do care whether or not they are here illegally and whether or not they care about the welfare of their patrons.
A good cook cares as much about cleanliness and healh standards, of themselves and their other workers, because - no matter how great their cooking skill is - one major illness outbreak can close a good resturant for good.
And, it does not matter how clean someone thinks they are, they know that they cannot be certain of everone else - thus the gloves.
Who was the last person to pick up or put down that frying pan, before they picked it up in their hand, before that hand then touched a food item, and how clean was that person, who had their hands on that frying pan right before they did? They really don't know.
There is no knowing that answer for sure and the gloves minimize the risk of not knowing.
Modern latex gloves for food service workers are not bulky and do not interfere with either dexterity or sensing the texture of things.
Oh, for pete's sake. Note to the paper: Flu is an upper respiratory illness. Sheesh. If you mean GI, say GI. There is NO such thing as stomach flu.
Uh oh!
"The food at the Olive Garden pretty much sucks - it ranks right in there with Red Lobster."
uh oh, double whammy!
I love their salad - the dressing is delicious. I don't get too excited about their other food, though - it's just average - really no better than a Fazoli's which is fast food.
My wife and I went to one of the first Olive Gardens that opened up in the Northern Virginia area. Happy to say that was the first and last time I stepped foot into one. Blandest "Italian" food I ever had.
You know it is all frozen and microwaved, not cooked, right? I learned that little tidbit from a former employee.
It doesn't have to be spectacular, just reasonably good and plenty of it!
I know when I'm on the road I go to places like that just to be safe (until now anyway).
And how do you know this? Do you work in a commercial kitchen?
I worked as a kitchen boy and second cook in a girls' camp for four summers and we never had anyone get sick from food.
We cleaned,cleaned and cleaned some more.
I helped care for an elderly person a number of years back and a friend that owned a resturant got me supplies of their latex gloves for free.
Make the identical salad at home:
Olive Garden Salad Mix - CopyCat
1 bag American Blend Dole Salad
4-5 slices Red Onion
4-6 Black Olives
2-4 Banana Peppers
1/2 cup Croutons
1 small Tomato quartered
Freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
Olive Garden Salad Dressing
Chill one salad bowl in freezer for at least 30 minutes. Place bag of salad in bowl. Place on top of lettuce red onion, black olives, banana peppers, tomatoes, and croutons. Add some freshly grated Parmesan cheese if you like, and add plenty of Olive Garden Salad Dressing on top.
Olive Garden Salad Dressing - CopyCat
1/2 cup Mayonnaise
1/3 cup White Vinegar
1 tsp. Vegetable Oil
2 Tbsp. Corn Syrup
2 Tbsp. Parmesan Cheese
2 Tbsp. Romano Cheese
1/4 tsp. Garlic Salt - or one clove garlic minced
1/2 tsp. Italian Seasoning
1/2 tsp. Parsley Flakes
1 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
Sugar (optional)
Mix all ingredients in a blender until well mixed. If this is a little to tart for your own personal tastes, add a little extra sugar.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.