The Maryland Department of Health is investigating a cluster of Salmonella infections linked to Moby Dick House of Kabob. The restaurant has several locations in Maryland, Virginia and Washington DC. People who bought hummus from this restaurant should discard it and look out for any symptoms. Here’s what you need to know about the Moby Dick House of Kabob Salmonella Outbreak:
Salmonella is one of the most common causes of foodborne illnesses in the US. Once ingested, the bacteria can cause symptoms like fever, diarrhea and abdominal cramps. Symptoms will start around 6 hours to 4 days after you consume the contaminated food. Diarrhea can be severe in a few cases and can lead to dehydration. If you don’t hydrate properly, then you might get hospitalized to get an IV.
Most people who get Salmonella infection recover within 4-7 days after contracting the infection without any treatment. Elders, children and those with compromised immune system are at the risk of becoming severely ill and getting hospitalized.
Until now, nine cases of Salmonella infection have been reported in Maryland. All of them were confirmed to be salmonella food poisoning. 8 of these people reported eating hummus from Moby Dick House of Kabob, according to state health officials who are continuing with the investigation.
“We have got laboratory analyses. Our investigation is continuing,” said Dr. Clifford Mitchell, director of Environmental Health for the Maryland Health Department. They are going to investigate to find out what caused the infection in the first place.
We wanted to get the word out to consumers, Mitchell added. This will help consumers know about the contamination in the hummus – which is sold retail through the restaurant – and they can throw it out. “We wanted to make sure people knew not to consume it.”
The restaurant has a total of nine locations in Maryland: Baltimore, Bethesda, College Park, Gaithersburg, Germantwon, Olney, Potomac, Pikesville and Rockville. Moby Dick House of Kabob also has locations in Virginia and Washington DC.
Although salmonella cases have only been reported in Maryland and none of the other places, according to health officials. This means you don’t have to worry about contamination in any of the other locations in this Moby Dick House of Kabob Salmonella Outbreak.
The restaurant chain has voluntarily suspended selling hummus just after they were informed of the cluster. “The safety and health of our customers is our number 1 concern and utmost priority; we are working diligently to investigate and determine the root cause of this claim,” Moby Dick House of Kabob spokesman Alex Momeni said in a statement. The production of hummus is already suspended at the time and the restaurant is waiting for official results from the Maryland Department of Health.
The restaurant was notified by the Health Department on September 24 and the authorities started conducting their own independent testing and hired an outside food safety and environmental consultant to review the matter.
“Samples of our hummus were sent to an ISO Certified Food Testing facility earlier this week, and thankfully, the results of that testing has come back negative for the presence of any harmful pathogens,” said Momeni.
Maryland Department of Health advised anyone who bought hummus from Moby Dick House of Kabob to throw it out. Anyone who recently ate at the restaurant and is feeling sick should seek medical attention.
Another salmonella cluster at Maryland was confirmed just last week at the University of Maryland College Park. 3 salmonella food poisoning cases were confirmed. Two students said they ate the campus dining facilities and the other one never ate at the campus. As of now, no relation between the clusters have been confirmed. The university has encouraged people to wash their hands and to refrigerate perishable foods before they go into the danger zone.
In Maryland, 900 to 1000 confirmed cases of Salmonella occur each year. In the US, salmonella causes 1.2 million illnesses, according to CDC.
5 Fast Facts about Salmonella:
Staying safe:
By: Pooja Sharma, Contributing Writer (Non-Lawyer)
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