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Food Borne Illness
REMEMBER: If nobody notifies the Health District, then we may miss an important outbreak. We want to hear from you!
When our stomachs are upset, the first thing most people think of is the last meal that they ate. However, 8 out of 10 times that we feel sick with vomiting or diarrhea, it is because the germs on our hands went into our bodies when we ate and made us feel ill. Most often, it has nothing to do with the quality of the food that we ate.
Therefore, it is unlikely that the last meal that you ate caused your illness. Instead, we must look back 72 hours and sometimes longer to determine the culprit, if we are able to determine it at all. When we investigate a food borne illness, we take a food history and evaluate everything that a person ate in the last 72 hours. In addition, we take a detailed account of symptoms and what time they appeared.
To submit a complaint about a possible food borne illness, please call (509) 249-6508. Be prepared for a 15-20 minute interview about your detailed symptoms and food history. We cannot guarantee that all complaints will result in an investigation but we will do our best to collect information that may help in future investigations.
Reporting Illnesses
When our stomachs are upset, the first thing most people think of is the last meal that they ate. However, 8 out of 10 times that we feel sick with vomiting or diarrhea, it is because the germs on our hands went into our bodies when we ate and made us feel ill. Most often, it has nothing to do with the quality of the food that we ate.
Therefore, it is unlikely that the last meal that you ate caused your illness. Instead, we must look back 72 hours and sometimes longer to determine the culprit, if we are able to determine it at all. When we investigate a food borne illness, we take a food history and evaluate everything that a person ate in the last 72 hours. In addition, we take a detailed account of symptoms and what time they appeared.
To submit a complaint about a possible food borne illness, please call (509) 249-6508. Be prepared for a 15-20 minute interview about your detailed symptoms and food history. We cannot guarantee that all complaints will result in an investigation but we will do our best to collect information that may help in future investigations.