Draper Valley Farms asked not to be named in possible cause for Rediviva illnesses

After Rediviva closed due to an investigation of 15 people possibly contracting an illness after eating at the restaurant, a company asked the local business to not insinuate their product was responsible.

On Monday, Grays Harbor County Environmental Health Division reported that they had learned on February 25, 2020, that a Grays Harbor resident tested positive for Campylobacter jejuni. 

The individual had reported eating 11 days earlier at Rediviva in Aberdeen, WA. 

In a Facebook post, Rediviva originally indicated that  chicken livers purchased from Draper Valley Farms, in MT. Vernon, WA, that may have been contaminated.

The company tells KXRO that they reached out to the restaurant to ask their name be removed as the possible cause.

They tell KXRO that in a letter they stated, “While we empathize that you are currently facing some challenges, it’s unfair and potentially defamatory to speculate and mislead the public in such a way without the findings of an official report.”

 They add that if the source of illness is in fact campylobacter bacteria, that bacteria enters the digestive system through the consumption of undercooked poultry, or the consumption of food that has touched raw or undercooked poultry. 

 They also add they offered to assist the business with “proper poultry handling instruction and training”  to kitchen staff to help avoid this problem in the future.

Rediviva has updated their post to reflect the request;

Original Post

We would like to notify our followers about an ongoing epidemiology investigation that we are working on with the County Health Department and State. Testing is currently being done on chicken livers that we purchased from Draper Valley Farms, in MT. Vernon, WA, that may have been contaminated with Camphylobacter. We served them on and around Valentine’s Day in Chicken Liver Mousse. We are working to test for, and resolve this issue, but may be closed to take to resolve this issue.

We do our very best to follow safe practices and measures, to ensure our food is delicious and safe to eat. Sometimes issues arise from purveyors, that get passed through onto the consumer. This is one of those cases.

https://www.drapervalleyfarms.com/

Edited Post

We would like to notify our followers about an ongoing epidemiology investigation that we are working on with the County Health Department and State. Testing is currently being done on chicken livers that we purchased from

local supplier (that has asked that their me removed) that may have been contaminated with Camphylobacter. We served them on and around Valentine’s Day in Chicken Liver Mousse. We are working to test for, and resolve this issue, but may be closed to take to resolve this issue.

We do our very best to follow safe practices and measures, to ensure our food is delicious and safe to eat. Sometimes issues arise from purveyors, that get passed through onto the consumer.

During an investigation of the facility, Environmental Health says that they learned of at least fifteen individuals who became ill after eating the Valentine’s Day dinner meal.

Rediviva has since posted an update on their Facebook page;

 

Campylobacter jejuni typically causes severe and sometimes bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramps, body aches, fever and vomiting,. 

Many of the known ill patrons continue to exhibit symptoms of illness. 

Though the investigation is ongoing, Environmental Health does believe that the illness was caused by the chicken liver mousse.

A site inspection of the facility was conducted on February 26th that revealed multiple risk factors that could have contributed to illness.

Rediviva was closed by Environmental Health on February 27th because the inspection resulted in the assignment of 75 or more “red point” violations. 

“The Grays Harbor County Environmental Health Division’s works to educate restaurant owners and food workers about proper food safety and to work with them to keep the public safe. Staff are continuing to investigate the exact cause of the outbreak and are conducting interviews of people who ate at the Valentine’s Day dinner event.”

Further information regarding the inspection may be viewed on the Grays Harbor County Environmental Health website at https://healthspace.com/Clients/Washington/GraysHarbor/Web.nsf/home.xsp

Rediviva is said to be cooperating with the outbreak investigation and remains closed at this time.

 The Valentine’s Day dinner menu continued to be served at Rediviva from February 13th through February 21st. 

If you recently ate at Rediviva and became ill, the Environmental Health Division would like to hear from you. 

Their office can be reached at (360) 249-4222 or through via email at [email protected].

If you see a health care provider for your illness, let them know that you may have been exposed to Campylobacter jejuni.

People with fever and diarrhea or vomiting are encouraged to stay home from work or school while they are sick to avoid spreading illness to others.