One month ago today –before two of its employees exposed up to 10,000 people and infected at least 26 with Hepatitis A – the McDonald’s in Milan, IL would not have made the list for a book of business success stories like Jim Collins’ “From Good To Great.”
After an in-depth look at what was going on at the Milan McDonald’s before the Hepatitis A outbreak, the only book the ill-fated hamburger franchise might fit in would be called “From Not So Good to Worse.”
The poor sanitation record at the McDonald’s owned by the Moline, IL –based JKLM Inc., headed by Kevin J. Murphy of Bettendorf, IA was the subject of local media attention during last month’s Hepatitis A outbreak.
Most if not all of that attention, however, focused on the Milan McDonald’s in 2009, especially its inclusion on a small list of Rock County establishments that:
- Had an average inspection score of less than 80 for the previous year.
- Seven or more critical violations during the previous year for Category 1 (High Risk) facilities or five critical violations for Category 2 (Medium Risk) facilities. Critical items include such violations as incorrect holding temperatures for potentially hazardous foods, cross-contamination, incorrect store of toxic items, etc.
- There have been two or more re-inspections within the past year for Category 1 or one or more re-inspections for Category 2.
- An excessive number of repeat violations.
Paul C. Guse, Rock Island County’s Environmental Health Director, did not mince words in his letter to the problem establishments, telling the Milan McDonalds it had been “targeted for a more frequent inspection schedule in an effort to improve food safety practices.”
In addition to promising more frequent inspections, Guse demanded the Milan McDonalds come up with its own list of “measures you have or will take to be in substantial compliance with the food code this year.”
Problems at the Milan McDonald’s were, however, nothing new. Three years before its employees were implicated in spreading Hepatitis A to its customers, the Milan McDonald’s in May 2006 was being warned by the Rock Island County Health Department about its poor hand washing practices.
In October 2006, it went from not so good to worse, getting only a score of 82, down from 90, on the health department’s 100-point scale. There was mold in the ice-making machine, no lid on the McRib sauce, and cold unit lacked thermostats. Shredded cheese was being kept too warm
Hot cheese continued to be a problem for the Milan McDonald’s in March 2007. Sliced yellow cheese was found to be at 86 degrees, not 41 degrees or blow as required. Ten items were on the correction list, but an overall score of 88 amounted to a slight gain for the restaurant.
In a second inspection in late fall, shredded and Swiss cheese was found being kept at temperatures of 69 and 68 degrees, much warmer than the 41 degrees and below required. Food debris including raw hamburger was found in equipment.
In its first inspection in 2008, the Milan McDonald’s got an overall sanitation score of 81. It had insect and rodent problems, an ice cream machine-spilling product, plastic bags of products that were open, and grill that needed repair.
In its second inspection in 2008, the Milan McDonald’s overall score fell still lower to 76. The inspector watched as the same employee sweeping the floor was operating the French frying machine without washing hands between assignments. Other employees were observed eating and drinking on cook line.
A follow up on that poor inspection focused on the restaurant’s actual physical plant and required a remodeling plan be submitted to the department. The attention managed to raise the overall score to 97,
An over-heated HVAC fan, serving the dining room and located over the front counter, was the next equipment failure at the Milan McDonald’s. The “smoke/fire event” closed the McDonald’s on Friday night, Nov. 28, 2008, until the following Saturday morning.
Power was off for about 20 minutes and employees were tapped to clean up. Some spoiled food was thrown out. Fire fighters used about 60 gallons of water on the smoke.
In January 2009, owner Kevin Murphy shared his remodeling plans with Road Island County Health Department. All work was going to be done at night.
Also in January, the department investigated the complaint of a consumer who said they were served two raw chicken sandwiches with the meat pink in color.
On February 26, construction on the remodeling job had been underway for about two weeks. Notice was given that before the new area became operational, the health department must be called.
However, the inspection record for March 13 makes it clear that did not happen. “Failure to communicate with this department has been on ongoing issue that must be resolved immediately,” the report said. The new beverage service was put into service without notice.
On July 14, after the Hepatitis A outbreak was clearly underway, health officials descended on the Milan McDonald’s for a hand-washing seminar, giving special attention to those employees with cuts, and painted and fake nails who were advised to wear gloves.
Health officials returned on July 15 for a full inspection, giving the Milan McDonald’s an overall score of 78. Not good.
The inspection report notes that an initial employee was confirmed positive with Hepatitis A on June 9, 2009; and a subsequent employee was confirmed positive with Hepatitis A on July 15, 2009. The Milan’s McDonald’s was ordered to close until: all employees complete health histories with Rock Island County Health Department; all employees get vaccines or immunoglobulin shots; and all employees complete hand-washing training.
Three days later, the Milan McDonald’s was again open for business.
The July 15th inspection report is the most detailed written by the department in the past three years. When the post-outbreak report is paired with the promises made in March by the Milan McDonald’s after it was included on list of establishments targeted for special attention, it’s apparent things went from bad to worse again.
McDonald’s promised to document hand washing on all shifts. The post-outbreak report says few employees were observed either washing their hands or turning off water properly with a paper tower.
McDonald’s promised to keep all equipment clean, including all coolers, ice cream machine, cream machine, coffee service, and orange juice machines with the job listed as a daily assignment for each shift. The post outbreak report found one cooler with ice building up with the temperature at minus five degrees; the coffee area needed cleaning and sanitizing, the ice machine was dirty, and the orange juice machine was running warm.
McDonald’s promised to store food property, keeping items off floors in both coolers and dry storage areas. Numerous food items were found at or near floor level, including many open products, according to the post outbreak report.
To be fair, McDonald’s promised to take better care when employees changed out their aprons, and that was one item they did not get written up on.
Outside of the Milan, IL McDonald's, the one place where you really should not be unless you have a Hepatitis A vaccine is Imperial Beach, CA..jpg)
The lawsuit is being brought by Karie Fiegel and her 14-year-old daughter, both of whom ate at the Milan McDonald’s in early June, 2009. Hepatitis A Virus (HAV) has an incubation period of 15-50 days, and it was not until early July that Ms. Fiegel fell ill with nausea, vomiting, fever, and jaundice. She sought medical care, but her symptoms only intensified, and she was admitted to the hospital where she remained for three days. In the hospital, tests revealed that she had been infected with HAV. Hepatitis infects the liver, and Ms. Fiegel’s liver enzymes were found to be elevated during her hospitalization. Although she has been released, her liver enzymes remain elevated.