Gastrointestinal illness associated with Sushi%AYCE/All You Can Eat in Seattle

Summary

Public Health investigated an outbreak of gastrointestinal (stomach) illnesses associated with Sushi%AYCE/All You Can Eat in Seattle. We did not find a specific food or drink item that might have caused the illnesses.

This outbreak appears to be over, and our investigation is complete.

Illnesses

Since May 26, seven people reported becoming sick after eating at the restaurant on May 16. They reported symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, chills, body aches, fever, and headache. We did not find any sick restaurant workers with signs of gastrointestinal (stomach) illness.

Public Health actions

We interviewed five people who became sick to learn more about their symptoms and what they ate.

On June 10, we visited the restaurant and found food safety problems that may have contributed to this outbreak.

• Workers were not washing their hands or changing gloves correctly when switching between raw foods and ready-to-eat foods.
• One handwashing station had no hot water, and others were missing basic supplies like paper towels.
• There was no sanitizer ready for use in the food preparation or dishwashing areas.
• Utensils and surfaces used to prepare food were not being cleaned properly.
• Ready‑to‑eat fruits and vegetables were cut and served without being washed first.
• Ready‑to‑eat foods were stored without date labels, so staff couldn’t tell how long items had been kept or when they needed to be thrown out.

We provided education on how to fix these issues. At a follow-up inspection on June 22, all these food safety problems had been corrected.

Laboratory testing

No laboratory testing was done.