Customers Sick From Eating At Arby's. Chain Has Many Repeat Violations.
Healthinspections.com has found that an Arby's in Washington state responsible for an outbreak of salmonella poisoning has a history of temperature violations – as do many other Arby's locations across the country.
It's the second time in less than a year that Arby's customers are sick with salmonella poisoning. In both outbreaks, health officials have found that roast beef was sliced on a contaminated slicing machine.
The latest salmonella outbreak happened in Moses Lake, Washington, located two hours east of Seattle.
Health department investigators say the Arby's meat slicer tested positive for salmonella. They also found that four Arby's employees were infected with salmonella.
Peggy Grigg, of the Grant County Health department said, "what we don't know is whether the workers contaminated the equipment, or if they got the bacteria by using the slicer."
Either way, it's another example of an Arby's slicer involved in an outbreak of salmonella poisoning.
The same problem made Arby's customers sick last year in Valdosta, Georgia. A bacteria-filled slicer contaminated sandwiches with salmonella, sending 19 to the hospital.
A dozen lawsuits have been filed in that case.
Healthinspections.com has twice reviewed inspection reports for dozens of Arby's across the country. Our analysis found that the roast beef sandwich chain has a record of repeat, serious violations.
Dirty Slicers A Common Violation
Healthinspections.com just completed a review of inspections for more than 100 Arby's in 12 cities across the country.
Inspectors found dirty or improperly cleaned slicers at 1 out of 10 Arby's.
But that's not the only problem.
In the cities we surveyed, Arby's was the worst fast food chain for repeat temperature violations.
24% of the Arby's we reviewed --- nearly one out of four – were cited for repeatedly serving foods at the wrong temperature.
The Arby's in Moses Lake, Washington also has a history of temperature violations, according to inspection records reviewed by Healtinspections.com
The restaurant was cited last December for repeat temperature violations. Hot food wasn't held at 140 degrees.
And even after the salmonella outbreak, the health department ordered the restaurant to stop making sandwiches in advance because the holding unit wasn't working and roast beef sandwiches were 35 degrees too cool.
Also, after the outbreak, ranch dressing was sitting out at 80 degrees. It should have been refrigerated.
If food isn't kept at the right temperature, dangerous bacteria multiply quickly.
"I Thought I Would Die"
In Valdosta, Georgia, 42 year old Frances Parks, a nurse, ate a regular roast beef sandwich last August 25th. A few days later, she was in the hospital with salmonella poisoning that was traced to a contaminated Arby's slicer.
"It was horrible," Parks told a local newspaper. "I couldn't believe how sick I was." Parks was in the hospital five days with severe vomiting and diarrhea and a fever that exceeded 104 degrees.
In the Georgia outbreak, Arby's is blaming the equipment manufacturer, saying the slicer handle wasn't properly coated at the factory, making it hard to properly clean and sanitize.
Cleaning a meat slicer is not a quick, job according to Chirag Bhatt, former chief of inspections in Houston, who is now Director of Food Safety for Healthinspections.com.
"It's not as simple as wiping what you see. To properly clean and sanitize a slicer requires hands-on training, so you don't leave any part of that equipment dirty with bacteria and other pathogens. It has to be torn down and thoroughly disinfected."
Employees In Moses Lake Have To Prove They're Healthy
The Arby's in Moses Lake, Washington has remained open during the salmonella outbreak.
The health department's Peggy Grigg says Arby's is cooperative. The slicer and the entire store was "cleaned and sanitized and they're keeping strict log books of hand washing," she said.
But even as the restaurant was being steam cleaned to kill bacteria, a health inspector found that the temperature in the walk-in cooler had to be adjusted because it still wasn't keeping food cold enough.
The Arby's employees in Moses Lake are also receiving special scrutiny. Peggy Grigg said that "no one can work in the restaurant unless they have a negative stool sample for salmonella."
Healthinspections.com left a message with Arby's asking for comment on the outbreaks and the high number of health code violations.
So far, no response.
Resource: HealthInspections.com, Aug.16, 2007
