Mitigating Salmonella Risk at the Buffet

Foodborne illness at hand was a salmonella outbreak at a buffet at the Old Country in Cheyenne, Wyoming (Flynn, 2016). The cause of the salmonella outbreak is not known, but salmonella is a common risk associated with buffets in particular. The risk occurs because warm food is a fertile breeding ground for the salmonella bacteria. Cooking helps to destroy the bacteria, so improper heating is a critical issue, which makes buffets a problem source for salmonella.

There are around 40,000 cases of salmonella every year in the United States, though it is usually only dangerous to the elderly or sick. In some cases, however, others have experienced substantial complications from salmonella infection, such as in the Old Country case. While the precise source of the salmonella could not be determined, in conditions favorable to the bacteria, it can spread. It is also something that can be transmitted by people, so the infection could have come from an employee and been transferred to the food.

There are a variety of things that a restaurant can do to minimize the risk of salmonella infection. Salmonella is a bacteria, so it can be killed with disinfectants and with heating. There are a number of ways that this outbreak could have been prevented. First, salmonella can be killed with proper sanitation procedures. This includes washing of hands by employees and washing of surfaces that are used for cooking. There is a particularly high risk of salmonella with uncooked or undercooked meats.

All meat should be thoroughly cooked to reduce salmonella risk. Further, uncooked or undercooked meats should not come into contact with other foods. An example of poor practice at a buffet might be having a roast beef on the buffet that is cooked only to medium rare, and then the blood from this beef can get on other things at the buffet, transferred by a fork or knife, for example. In such a situation, anything on the buffet could be infected with salmonella.

Proper storage of foods in the kitchen to avoid cross-contamination, particularly where uncooked meats are concerned, is considered best practice in reducing salmonella risk. Further, produce should be washed thoroughly -- salads can be a source of salmonella if the vegetables are not properly washed. Part 2. The illness was contracted by many different people who dined at the Cheyenne location. The buffet format means that the illness could be contracted by all customers of the buffet while the salmonella-infected food was available to eat.

It takes eight to 72 hours for the bacteria to grow in a person's gastrointestinal tract, so that it can be difficult to know that there was a salmonella infection until well after. By the time people start to get sick, the food in question would have already been finished or removed from the buffet, but dozens would have become infected. At that point, because there are so many potential sources, it would be almost impossible to determine the precise source of the infection.

We found out when customers began reporting that they had become sick while eating at the restaurant, and this was days later. The most common risk factors are undercooked or uncooked meat, salads, eggs, unpasteurized dairy products and cheese. At our buffet, the most likely source was with undercooked meat, or with improperly washed salad. The potential costs are significant. Around 400 people die annually from salmonella poisoning in the United States, and those who survive may face substantial medical costs, as was the case here.

Legal action could bankrupt the company, so the consequences of salmonella infection are dire for the company.