Food-borne illness concerns officials
By Kelly Soderlund
The Journal Gazette
Dec. 25, 2005
Kim Sands looks back fondly on the days when her mom would bake goodies for her to bring to Maplewood Elementary School on her birthday or for holiday parties.
But that was at least 35 years ago. Instead of following in her mother’s footsteps, Sands, who is the legislative chairwoman for the Fort Wayne Community Schools PTA and a teacher at Miami Middle School, must buy cookies at the store if her daughters want to bring food to school.
“I really enjoyed that, but times have changed so much nowadays,” Sands said.
Fort Wayne Community Schools, along with a number of school districts in northeast Indiana, have policies that prevent students from bringing in homemade treats for the class. Goodies must be prepackaged from an establishment licensed by the board of health.Continue Reading Schools frown on homemade treats

Wednesday, December 21, 2005
The Chi-Chi`s Restaurant chain has been ordered pay money to thousands of customers exposed to Hepatitis two years ago. Nearly 5,000 people who ate at a restaurant near Pittsburgh had to get Hepatitis shots after an outbreak linked to Mexican grown green onions. More than 600 people got sick and four…

Dec 21, 2005
KVOA.com
Officials urge a wake-up call for restaurant employees and patrons about the importance of washing your hands.
Two cases of hepatitis A have been discovered in Santa Cruz County.
A case was first discovered in Nogales. Tubac is now on the radar.
This time it was at a restaurant and, while health officials don’t think the cases are linked, they’re urging you to be aware and be prepared.
An employee at Tubac Deli and Coffee Company contracted the virus in October.Continue Reading 2 cases of hepatitis A in Santa Cruz County

By Jason Cato
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Checks should start arriving in a few weeks for nearly 5,000 people who claimed part of an $800,000 lawsuit settlement against Chi-Chi’s following a hepatitis A outbreak two years ago at a restaurant in Beaver County.
Though nearly 10,000 people got shots to help stave off the illness following the fall 2003 incident involving tainted green onions at the Chi-Chi’s in the Beaver Valley Mall, only 4,931 returned the necessary forms by the Oct. 24 deadline, said Bill Marler, the Seattle lawyer who handled the class action lawsuit. Each of those people will receive a check for $162.23.
Marler, who specializes in food-poison cases, said he thinks the settlement is fair — especially since it involved people who simply got shots and did not necessarily contract the disease.
“It’s in line with similar settlements we’ve made in the past,” he said.Continue Reading Chi-Chi’s checks to arrive soon

By JOE MANDAK
The Associated Press
PITTSBURGH – Nearly 5,000 people who had to get shots to ward off hepatitis A during a food-poisoning outbreak at a western Pennsylvania Chi-Chi’s restaurant two years ago will be mailed checks for $162.23 each next month.
A federal judge in Delaware overseeing Chi-Chi’s bankruptcy signed off on the class-action settlement last week.
Chi-Chi’s paid $800,000 to those who had to get shots. Nearly 9,500 people got the shots, but only 4,931 filed claims by the court-imposed deadline of Oct. 24. The money was equally divided among those who filed claims, said Bill Marler, the Seattle attorney who sued on their behalf.Continue Reading Court OKs payments for those given shots after hepatitis outbreak

Cafe Pinot tells patrons who dined during a 10-day span that they may have been exposed to hepatitis A and urges them to get injections.
By Rong-Gong Lin II and Amanda Covarrubias, Times Staff Writers
Los Angeles Times
December 15, 2005
More than 450 diners and employees at swanky Cafe Pinot have received shots to combat hepatitis A after workers at the downtown Los Angeles eatery contracted the disease.
A customer and five employees have been diagnosed with hepatitis A, county health officials said Wednesday, as they continued to track a puzzling outbreak of the virus over the last few months.
There have been 214 confirmed cases in Los Angeles County since August, compared with 52 cases between January and July.Continue Reading On the Menu, Dinner and a Shot

People who ate at Cafe Pinot between Nov. 25 and Dec. 4 are urged to get medical treatment.
By Amanda Covarrubias and Rong-Gong Lin II
Times Staff Writers
December 10, 2005
Los Angeles County health officials said Friday that they are investigating a new suspected hepatitis A outbreak at Cafe Pinot, one of downtown Los Angeles’ top restaurants.
Four employees of the restaurant at the Central Library have fallen ill in the last few weeks, prompting the county Department of Health Services to urge restaurant patrons who dined there between Nov. 25 and Dec. 4 to contact their doctors for injections of antibodies to prevent infection.
Los Angeles County has seen a spike in hepatitis A cases since August.
Officials have linked some of the cases to contaminated lettuce. Last week, the county urged residents to thoroughly clean even pre-washed lettuce.Continue Reading Source of Hepatitis Outbreak Sought

Fri, Dec. 09, 2005
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES – Employees of a popular downtown restaurant were urged to get immune globulin shots after an employee was diagnosed with hepatitis A and three others began showing symptoms, the county Health Department announced Friday.
People who ate at Cafe Pinot from Nov. 25 through Dec. 4 should see a doctor and get the injections, officials said.
The shot should be given with 14 days of exposure to be effective.
Cafe Pinot employees received the shots and the restaurant was allowed to remain open.Continue Reading LA restaurant worker diagnosed with hepatitis A