A story on the Barf Blog today raises a question so disturbing that much of our restaurant-o-phile readership will probably shudder at the very thought. But the evidence is there: Some restaurant and institutional kitchen food poisoning may be deliberate.
It’s not pretty, but when you think we’ve all probably harbored some kind of sick revenge fantasy against a boss from hell or a job from hell or some such thing, you have to admit it’s totally possible that some of the food poisoning cases in the world are no accident.
Barf Blog refers to a story of an International House of Pancakes in Texas that has been linked to more than 100 salmonella cases over the last five months. Police are investigating, and while they stopped short of calling the contamination intentional, they said they were, “investigating every option.”
But don’t let it scare you too bad. Really, when was the last time you heard a substantiated case of this kind of attack? Plus, it’s one of those things you absolutely can’t predict. So just try not to think about it, okay?
But do avoid the IHOP at I-40 and Western Street in Amarillo. Intentional or no, that’s a shameful track record.
How much food poisoning is deliberate? [Barf Blog]
Over 100 salmonella cases linked to IHOP [KVII Texas]
Food Safety for First Responders [Centers for Disease Control]
[Photo: Food Poisoning Microbes via Braintree District Council]
