A foodborne illness crisis can vary in severity and the number of guests affected. In some cases, you learn that an employee has a contagious disease, such as Hepatitis A, and although no diner has reported illness, you are legally and morally obligated to contact the health department, which will assist you in notifying guests who might have been exposed.

In other cases, you might be barraged by several complaints, alleging that they become ill shortly after eating at your restaurant. Still, in other cases, you might receive a call or complaint from a single guest.

Your contingency plan to protect guests and your business will vary depending on the severity and scope of the problem. In any case, the following are some of the steps of a sound contingency plan to prepare for such an unfortunate event.

Communicate and discuss the matter with and to all management and staff and encourage their support and cooperation. Designate key persons, typically the owner, general manager, or your attorney, to field customer complaints, respond to media inquiries, and work with the health department. Let your staff know that if they are approached by third parties wanting them to explain the incident, they should direct them to the designated contact persons. If feasible, you might want to enlist the help of a public relations firm to assist with media inquiries and press releases.

Contact your local health department. Proactive cooperation with the health department demonstrates genuine concern and diligence and could provide access to resources to identify the source of foodborne illness and lessen your liability. If health department officials contact you first, treat them as a partner. Do not attempt to evade questions or hide facts relevant to food safety issues. Health department officials do not want to shut down your business unnecessarily, but you need to work with them if you hope to maintain their assistance and support.

Create a form on which to document all reported guest ailments. It should capture the name, address, and telephone number of the complaining guests, the time and date on which they dined at your restaurant, and the nature of their complaint, including physical ailments. The form should be signed and dated by the person submitting or recording the information, and carefully filed in a confidential and secure place.

When talking to complaining guests, indicate concern for their welfare and assure them that you are investigating/will investigate the matter and provide a follow-up call. You should not admit liability; however, if the health department or you have identified a food safety problem at your restaurant, you should inform the complaining guests to contact their physicians and the local health department for instructions on how and where to receive prophylactic or therapeutic treatment. (In this case, you should have contacted the health department.) How well you treat complaining customers may influence their decision to take legal action. Injured parties, who would otherwise forgive a bad outcome or accept a modest settlement, will seek legal recourse when treated indifferently or poorly by a business.

Contact your restaurant’s attorney and insurance company representative immediately. Your attorney can provide advice and representation initially; however, if the event is covered by your insurance policy, then the insurance company will assign the matter to its attorneys.

Conduct your own investigation, even if the health department is conducting its own, to determine the source of the illness. This includes inspecting the products and procedures, and interviewing all food-handling staff on duty during the day of the alleged outbreak. You should secure all remaining food product that is believed to be contaminated. Do not destroy it but freeze it (if spoilable) or lock it up in case the health department wants to inspect it. Second, take written statements from all individuals involved in the food handling, which they can show later as a good-faith effort to investigate the matter. Plaintiff’s attorneys always claim there was “really” no investigation if there is no record of it.

Contact your supplier if necessary. If the illness might be related to a vendor’s product, you should notify the distributor and/or supplier immediately.

Hire a food safety consultant. If you can do so, hiring a food safety consultant to assist with the investigation can be invaluable, and that person might be able to serve as an expert witness on your restaurant’s behalf, should the matter become litigious.

Source: RestaurantOwner.com

Editor’s note: This article is for general information only. It is advisable to have an attorney who specializes in hospitality law create your specific plan.