A Mexican restaurant remains open after one person died and 33 others were sickened by a salmonella outbreak in November last year, according to a report.
The meal included ingredients such as carnitas, buche (pork belly), cueritos (pork rind), rice, beans, tortillas, salsa, chopped onion, cilantro, and lime wedges.
The outbreak hospitalized three people. One other person died.
All who were affected ate at the restaurant between Nov. 4 and Nov. 26, the Tri-County Health Department said. Nearly all reported experiencing diarrhea and abdominal cramping.
The report obtained by KMGH confirmed that at least four cases of salmonella poisoning occurred. Out of the 33 cases, only one was a restaurant employee while the rest were all customers.
The one employee who tested positive for salmonella was banned from working at the restaurant until recovery. But investigators still are unclear if the employee caused the outbreak or was sickened by it like everyone else after coming into contact with the bacteria.
A health inspection at La California on Nov. 22, revealed four “critical” violations: cross-contamination, improper or lack of hand washing, improper hot-holding of foods, improper cooling of foods and lack of hot water at a hand sink, according to KMGH.
The report stated that all the violations were corrected later on Nov. 27, 2017. An inspector wrote that “food safety training is strongly recommended.”
