On the seventh of December, 2023, WRAL News announced an outbreak of 140 illnesses connected to the sushi restaurant, Sushi Nine. The Raleigh, North Carolina-based restaurant received notifications from consumers with adverse reactions after having consumed sushi at its business.
While a virus is believed to be the cause, the blame is under investigation. According to local reports, patrons reported experiencing symptoms that correlate similarly with those of Norovirus, often referred to as the “winter vomiting disease.” One victim, Austin Freels, shared details of his illness following eating sushi at Sushi Nine, while with family and friends a few days prior to his wedding. Austin experienced “agonizing” stomach pain, and mentioned to WRAL that while at the Emergency Room, he was told by health professionals his food poisoning case was “…one of the most severe cases…they had seen…”
The co-owner of Sushi Nine, Lisa Fatfat, shared with WRAL News that the company chose to “close the restaurant for 48 hours. With this time we have taken proactive steps to address recent reports of alleged food poison.” Accordingly, Sushi Nine closed their doors on December 5th, but has since been given permission by Wake County to reopen. It did so on December 7th. Lisa Fatfat added that the restaurant would conduct “a thorough deep clean and inspection of our restaurant.”
As of December 12th, 2023, approximately 140 reports of food poisoning have been submitted by Sushi Nine consumers. Patrons have been complaining of symptoms including, but not limited to, nausea, diarrhea and vomiting.
If experiencing adverse symptoms after eating at Raleigh, North Carolina Sushi Nine, customers are asked to notify Wake County by calling the number 919-250-4462.
This outbreak continues to be investigated by Wake County. One food poisoning lawyer, who represents one of the people who died in the Dave’s Sushi food poisoning case in Montana, stated: “contrary to popular belief, raw fish is not a common carrier of food borne pathogens. in fact, it has a pretty good food safety rating. That said, in this case, it was likely a sick employee or a patron who introduced the pathogen into the restaurant, and then through cross contamination and failing to follow proper food preparation and cleanliness procedures, the virus was allowed to spread around the restaurant.
