Mighty Taco Sickens Over 100 in Eerie County, New York
104 people are “reporting symptoms consisting primarily of nausea and vomiting after consuming refried beans” from one of eleven Mighty Taco locations in Eerie County, according to the Eerie County Department of Health (ECDOH). Those sickened reported dining at the restaurant between September 27th and October 6th.
ECDOH expects additional cases in coming days, stating that “as this is an ongoing investigation . . . numbers may change as additional reports are received.”
The Eerie County Department of Health, New York State Department of Health, Niagara County Department of Health, and New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets are conducting a joint investigation of the rash of foodborne illnesses. As part of the investigation, “representative samples are en route to the New York State Department of Health’s Wadsworth Center in Albany for testing.”
“I can assure Erie County residents that the full resources of the ECDOH are working on this,” Erie County Commissioner of Health Dr. Gale Burstein stated Friday. “The investigation and analysis into an incident of a possible foodborne illness can be very complicated and may take weeks.” According to the commissioner, the investigative team plans to interview each person extensively “to identify a possible source.”
No specific illness or bacteria – such as Salmonella or E. coli – has been identified or named by the public health authorities.
Suspicions of an Outbreak: ECDOH Begins to Investigate
The first public indication of an ongoing outbreak was a succinct October 6th statement released by ECDOH:
The Erie County Department of Health (“ECDOH”) is currently investigating reports of illness possibly associated with Mighty Taco restaurants. The investigation is being conducted jointly with the New York State Department of Health (“NYSDOH”), Niagara County Department of Health, and the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets.
The release goes on to describe the investigation as evaluating the nature of the reported illness and “inspection, sampling and analysis of food ingredients, both at a restaurant level and within the ingredient supply chain.”
Report Your Illness to Eerie County
Erie County residents who wish to report an illness that may be associated with this investigation may do so by calling the ECDOH Office of Epidemiology and Disease Control at 716.858.7697.
In addition, if you or a family member became ill after dining at Mighty Taco and you would like to explore pursuing a legal claim, call 1-888-335-4901 today to speak with a food poisoning lawyer at Ron Simon & Associates or contact us online.
