The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) has confirmed a report that at least 30 cases of salmonella food poisoning in Dalhart, TX, originated at the X-10 Woodfire Steakhouse. The Dalhart restaurant, located in the far North-West of Texas close to the border to New Mexico, was closed to allow the investigation to continue, to clean and sanitize the restaurant, and to clear employees to return to work. Officials have not yet determined how the salmonella bacteria was introduced into the restaurant, and may not be able to do so as environmental samples and swabs of the establishment were negative. According to DSHS, the restaurant has been cleared to reopen. In a statement released by X-10 Woodfire Steakhouse, on its Facebook page, the restaurant intends to open later today. The statement continues: “It has been a long week, but the end is here. Thank you for your continued support and your patience. The restaurant has been checked and cleared of any health issues. However, the Health Department did receive positive results from some of our employees and we are following the Health Department’s guidelines. This includes antibiotics and not returning to work until they have tested negative on two separate occasions. We will open Thursday, February 19th and that’s a great time to eat out. Come see us!”
Texas-based Salmonella Lawyer Ron Simon stated “A restaurant in Texas has an obligation to provide consumers with safe food, and if a customer gets sick from eating the food, the restaurant can be held strictly liable.” Salmonella lawyer Ron Simon added “too often, while the source of the bacteria is never determined, we find a number of important deviations for safe food production standards. In this case, the investigation is ongoing, but we will be looking for failures to properly clean and sanitize the food preparation and serving areas, incidents of cross contamination, improper employee hygiene, and instances where the restaurant is not up to code it preventing the possibility of foodborne illness.
If you have any questions concerning this outbreak, call the salmonella lawyers at Ron Simon & Associates at 713-306-3880 or at 1-888-335-4901.
