At least 10 people who dined at a Valencia restaurant over the weekend were sickened in a salmonella outbreak, according to the Los Angles County Health Department.
Ava Pulaski, who was visiting Southern California, was one of the customers who fell ill after eating at Madre! restaurant in the northern Los Angeles County community.
“I went online, to leave a bad review, actually, and I saw everyone else’s,” said Pulaski. “I was like, ok, this is a serious issue.”
The restaurant’s owner told NBCLA a customer called him on Wednesday and said they tested positive for salmonella. Chef and owner Ivan Vasquez said he called the health department, which issued a notice of temporary closure due to the health hazard.
“It’s unfortunate that this happened at our restaurant,” Vasquez said. “We’re going to be working really hard with the health department with full transparency.”
A source of the contamination was not immediately identified. The restaurant will remain closed until that happens and sanitization is complete.
Salmonella can be contracted from contaminated food or by coming into contact with people and animals who are sick. Symptoms include gastrointestinal problems.
The health department offered the following tips to prevent its spread.
- Wash your hands after you use the bathroom or change a diaper.
- Wash all fruits and vegetables before eating them.
- Wrap fresh meats, poultry, and seafood in plastic bags at the market to prevent their liquids from dripping on other foods.
- Use a meat thermometer to check the inside temperature of meats to make sure they are fully cooked.
- Immediately wash cutting boards and counters used to prepare raw foods to avoid spreading the germs to other foods.
- Avoid eating raw eggs and foods that contains uncooked eggs (i.e. cookie dough, homemade ice cream, tiramisu, eggnog).
- If you have salmonella, don’t prepare food for others until your diarrhea has stopped.
