Cause of Shabbat food poisoning remains unknown
by Daniel Silverman
News | 10/8/02
Posted online at 8:04 AM EST on 10/8/02
/ Last updated at 9:03 AM EST on 10/8/02
Six students were treated at the University Health Center last Saturday, Sept. 28, for mild to moderate gastrointestinal complaints. All sufferers were attendees of the Friday night Shabbat dinner, sponsored by Hillel.
While many students said they believe the outbreak may be related to the Hillel dinner, Debra Poaster, the medical director of the Health Center, claims that such correlations are difficult to verify. "We do not have definitive evidence for a food borne outbreak on campus," she said.
Poaster was able to confirm only six cases at the Health Center and reports three other students consulted with the center by phone about stomach pains. BEMCo reported one student was transported to Waltham Hospital.
Director of food services at Sherman Dining Hall, Aaron Bennos, states there were no reports of illness at the meal itself.
Bennos claims Aramark, the company that oversees Brandeis dining services, would be willing to analyze food samples, but there is no food remaining to be tested.
The Shabbat dinner served over 500 for Simchat Torah, in contrast to most weeks, when the numbers have been closer to 200.
Visitors to this week's Hillel dinner said they were doing their best to forget about the events of last week. "I'm sticking to the vegetables," Mira Abramson '05 said.
Neither the health center personnel nor the Aramark employees have determined which food, if any, caused the illness.
Aramark has instituted several new procedures for food preparation. "We are now taking samples of all our foods and holding them for three days," Bennos said. Previous procedures called for testing the temperatures of foods before placing them in warmers for storage. Now temperatures will also be checked immediately before serving the food, he said.
"We are doing everything in our power to make sure that nothing like this happens again," Bennos said.
As for patrons at the Hillel dinner, in the words of Abramson, "We're just trying not to think about it."
While many students said they believe the outbreak may be related to the Hillel dinner, Debra Poaster, the medical director of the Health Center, claims that such correlations are difficult to verify. "We do not have definitive evidence for a food borne outbreak on campus," she said.
Poaster was able to confirm only six cases at the Health Center and reports three other students consulted with the center by phone about stomach pains. BEMCo reported one student was transported to Waltham Hospital.
Director of food services at Sherman Dining Hall, Aaron Bennos, states there were no reports of illness at the meal itself.
Bennos claims Aramark, the company that oversees Brandeis dining services, would be willing to analyze food samples, but there is no food remaining to be tested.
The Shabbat dinner served over 500 for Simchat Torah, in contrast to most weeks, when the numbers have been closer to 200.
Visitors to this week's Hillel dinner said they were doing their best to forget about the events of last week. "I'm sticking to the vegetables," Mira Abramson '05 said.
Neither the health center personnel nor the Aramark employees have determined which food, if any, caused the illness.
Aramark has instituted several new procedures for food preparation. "We are now taking samples of all our foods and holding them for three days," Bennos said. Previous procedures called for testing the temperatures of foods before placing them in warmers for storage. Now temperatures will also be checked immediately before serving the food, he said.
"We are doing everything in our power to make sure that nothing like this happens again," Bennos said.
As for patrons at the Hillel dinner, in the words of Abramson, "We're just trying not to think about it."
