Restaurant cleared to reopen after salmonella outbreak
VANCOUVER, Wash. – Clark County health officials lifted the closure order for a restaurant that was linked to at least 23 confirmed salmonella cases and as many as 54 more.
On the Border Mexican Grill was closed on Oct. 9 to prevent salmonella from spreading after customers reported getting sick.
“We believe there is no longer a risk of salmonella transmission to the public,” said Dr. Alan Melnick, Clark County Health Officer. “All restaurant surfaces and equipment have been inspected, cleaned and sanitized, and all potentially contaminated foods have been removed.”
Melnick said restaurant employees have been tested for salmonella and those who did not have the infection were cleared to return to work.
It’s unclear what caused the outbreak.
The restaurant will reopen Monday at 4 p.m.
“At On The Border, we take the health and safety of our guests and employees very seriously,” said Tony Wehner, the restaurant's Senior Vice President of Operations. “We worked closely and cooperatively with the Clark County Public Health Department throughout this unfortunate and isolated situation.”
Salmonella, a common bacterial infection, is typically a food-borne illness acquired from contaminated raw poultry, eggs, and unpasteurized milk and cheese products, health officials said.
People infected with salmonella can pass it on to others if they don’t wash their hands, particularly after using the bathroom.
Why would I go all the way to Vancouver to eat out?
Oh good, I'm gonna run right down there.
I'll pass. KFC for me today.
I'm sure people are lining up at the doors waiting for it to open..................
 @paulelijah what's your favorite restaurant? Have you checked the Health Dept reports?
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To be honest, I can't afford to eat at any restaurants, I'm making chicken top ramen for my third night in a row. I'm pretty partial to the Olive Garden though, and I'm sure they aren't perfect.
@paulelijah Ya right, who the heck is going to eat there?
 @Deep_Green  @paulelijah based on what happened, i know it sounds wierd but i love this place. it the hangout for my crew. i'm just glad they'll be open for MNF for me and our regulars.
 @Tiger  @Deep_GreenÂ
Yeah, I'm just a smart alec, trying to bust their balls. I'm sure its great food, and it sounds like they have had a really good record, I hope people continue to eat there and that people will give them a second chance. Truth is, any restaurant can have that happen. If I lived anywhere near there, I'd eat there just to support them.
@paulelijah I don't think they'll need any of those fancy red ropes and chrome poles for crowd control for about a year, but they will have customers as soon as they open the doors because not everyone in town goes to the KATU website for up-to-date news.
The government wants restaurants to post all the calorie numbers on the menu. I think they should have to post how many people got sick eating there, when it was, and how many people have died. I don't really care that much about the calories, lol.
I was hoping that they would find what had caused the outbreak. I'll wait a month before going back.
 @bOB It's most likely caused by workers who don't believe in using toilet paper. I'm not making that up - it's very likely a true story. Five workers who worked there tested positive and I doubt that they got it by eating the food.Â
 @The Voice of Reason Please give us your verifiable source.
 @The Voice of Reason  @bOB five workers did not test positive. this is a clean restaurant. and even cleaner now. lol.Â
 @Jamie  @The Voice of Reason  @bOB for any public place ... who knows?Â
 @Tiger  @The Voice of Reason  @bOB For how long?
 @bOB Right now is the best time to go lol its all clean!!!
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It won't matter when you go back if it was caused by unsanitary food workers.
 @Scotty9  @bOB What they failed to report in this story is that this particular restaurant has a great track record for health inspections. Of the 7 health inspections since 2009, that restaurant has had 5 perfect scores of 100 and 2 scores of 95. It's not likely this was a result of employees.
 @Tiger  @bOBÂ
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That's possible, but if the food came to the restaurant already contaminated I would expect to see cases coming from other restaurants that had bought from the same supply. Workers come and go; your food is only as safe as the last worker that touched it.