Kern County Environmental Health inspectors in Bakersfield, California have closed down the Don Perico Mexican and seafood restaurant, located at 4701 White Lane due to a salmonella outbreak that has sickened 4 people – as reported by Bakersfield.com. Two remain hospitalized.
More victims of the outbreak may be confirmed in coming days, said Kern County Public Health Director Matt Constantine. The outbreak, does not appear to be tied to a national recall of salmonella-tainted eggs.
“I had four people who have been diagnosed with salmonella who have indicated they ate at Don Perico at around the same time,” he said. “The only common link is they ate at Don Perico at the same time period (in the past two weeks).”
Thursday morning, Environmental Health officers held an administrative hearing with the restaurant’s owner, Gabino Trujillo Diaz and decided to shut the restaurant down temporarily, Constantine said.
Constantine said food at the restaurant has been sampled for testing and the business will not re-open until an investigation has been completed and inspectors have made sure it is safe to patronize. Officials are also trying g to determine the exact size of the outbreak.
The four victims have connections to other people who may have un-diagnosed cases of salmonella infection, Constantine said. Health officials are trying to confirm that diagnosis.
Health Violations at Dom Perico
Inspection reports from Don Perico’s in 2010 show a history of multiple, repeated violations of healthy food policies.
Officials have noted 2 major violations: an employee failing to wash his hands with soap before handling food and an employee that washed a beer pitcher without using sanitizing liquid.
Official have also noted 5 minor violations and 5 non-critical violations. These included dirty counters, knives and spatulas, soiled cleaning cloths, and uncovered containers of food in an under-sink refrigeration unit.
Many similar problems were discovered during Wednesday’s inspection, and the follow-up inspection conducted Thursday.
Simon & Luke Can Help
If you recently contracted salmonella after eating at Don Perico and were contacted by Kern County or California health authorities, then you are likely one of the cases tied to this outbreak. If so, you are entitled to significant compensation for your illness – including payment for all of your medical bills, lost wages, and suffering you endured.
The Salmonella lawyers at Simon & Luke are currently investigating this salmonella egg outbreak. Our food poisoning lawyers have represented over 2000 victims of salmonella across the United States, including numerous California and Kern County salmonella claimants, filing hundreds of salmonella lawsuits and recovering millions of dollars in salmonella settlements for our clients. We have already been called upon by NBC, CBS, ABC, and CNN, along with dozens of print media outlets, to provide commentary and insight into the salmonella egg outbreak, its source, and measures that can be taken to make our egg supply and food system safer for all.
Call us toll free at 1-888-335-4901 or contact us by email at ron@simonluke.com – we are happy to answer your questions free of charge.
