Indian restaurant shut down in Seattle after 43 people fall sick having 'Fusion Thanksgiving Feast'; bacterial toxins blamed

An Indian restaurant has been shut down in Seattle after at least 43 people reported major stomach upset, diarrhea after having a 'Fusion Thanksgiving Feast' at the restaurant around November 28.

According to reports, the symptoms included diarrhea, stomach pains, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, headache, and body aches but no restaurant workers were affected. King County Public Health visited the restaurant on December 2 after the reports of illness but did not find any specific food or drink that led to the illness. Officials said the symptoms indicated bacterial toxins which can grow when food is left at room temperature and contaminate the food. The officials said they found several problems with the restaurant, including insufficient equipment and kitchen space to safely prepare both their regular menu food and Thanksgiving special dish. The cooling methods the restaurant used may not have lowered the food's temperature to a safe level, they said.

The food inspection report mentioned that the officials went back to the hotel on December 4 and found out that those irregularities were still in practice.

“On Dec. 4, we went back to the restaurant to check if the earlier food safety problems had been fixed,” King County Public Health wrote. “During our visit, we saw that food was still being cooled improperly and that items requiring refrigeration were being kept at room temperature.

Because these issues could make people sick, we closed the restaurant until they are fixed. While closed, the restaurant threw out unsafe food and will be retraining staff on safe food handling.”

The incident triggered a major outrage on social media, with Indians blaming Americans' low spice tolerance for the incident. A purported statement issued by the restaurant went viral in which the restaurant claimed that the incident was only related to the one-time Thanksgiving feast menu -- and the regular menu was not in any trouble.In the purported statement, the hotel claimed that they voluntarily contacted King County Public Health and requested an inspection after they received a complaint from a customer.

The restaurant said they shut down voluntarily unless the issue is resolved. "Although the lab findings did not show any specific contamination and no food tested positive for any pathogen, we made the decision—together with Public Health—to take every precaution possible. We temporarily closed, discarded all food, completed a full deep cleaning, and began retraining our staff to strengthen our food safety systems before reopening," the statement by Kanishka Cuisine of India said.