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SALT LAKE CITY — An isolated case of staph bacteria at a local soup kitchen has been identified by the Salt Lake County Health Department as the source of a foodborne illness for which 55 people at a homeless shelter were treated.
The St. Vincent de Paul Dining Hall served a food item Sunday night that contained staphylococcal enterotoxin, according to the health department. Fifty-five people were ultimately treated for suspected food poisoning.
Men, women and children at the Road Home, 210 S. Rio Grande St., were transported to various local hospitals Sunday night with symptoms including vomiting and severe stomach pain. Ilene Risk, a SLCHD epidemiologist, said many of those who fell ill ate at the St. Vincent De Paul Dining Hall.
The bacteria is a common cause of foodborne illness that produces symptoms consistent with those reported by the affected individuals, according to the SLCHD. The bacteria is found on the skin and hands and can cause illness when it comes in contact with food that is within the “food danger zone” of 41° F to 135° F, according to the SLCHD.
This is an important reminder to anyone who prepares food— either commercially or at home—that hand washing, avoiding bare-hand contact with food and keeping hot foods hot and cold foods cold are all essential to preventing illness.
–Andrea Gamble, SLCHD
According to the SLCHD, the St. Vincent de Paul Dining Hall has cooperated fully with the health department’s investigation.
Health department epidemiologists interviewed those affected and started inspecting the kitchen and some of the food samples. The staph toxin was eventually discovered in a food sample from the kitchen by the Utah Public Health Lab.
“This incident at St. Vincent de Paul Dining Hall appears to be an isolated food handling error,” said Andrea Gamble, SLCHD environmental health scientist. “Unfortunately, a single lapse in temperature controls or food-contact protocols can cause problems.”
The dining hall kitchen undergoes surprise inspections at least two times per year and it has consistently done well in those inspections, the health department said.
“This is an important reminder to anyone who prepares food— either commercially or at home—that hand washing, avoiding bare-hand contact with food and keeping hot foods hot and cold foods cold are all essential to preventing illness,” Gamble said.
Spencer Ricks is a KSL.com news writing intern and student at Dixie State University from Snoqualmie, Washington. Contact him at newsintern@deseretdigital.com.
