- Thread starter LindseyKaufman
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Warning Sosua Ocean Village
Avoiding salad and veggies is my preference, because I see enough cross contamination in the US and I also wonder what kind of water produce is washed in. Would you eat lettuce that had been prepped on a cutting board that had raw meat on it and then wiped down with a dirty rag? I'll have batidas at a fruit stand because they aren't cooking raw meats in the same kitchen, but I'm very careful about hole-in-the-wall kitchens. I was in a student spring break trip once and we were treated to a "traditional" Dominican meal in Caberete. I barely touched the food(except for some tostones) and was the only one in the group that didn't get sick.
Rice often has Bacillus Cereus on it, and it's not killed by boiling. It's usually not enough to cause poisoning by itself or when it's freshly made. But add a little oil or protein to the cooked rice and let sit out between 80 and 120 degrees for a couple hours and you've got a nice recipe for food poisoning. I don't see a lot of hot foods in holding cabinets at 165 degrees in the DR or cold foods sitting in ice baths...
Bacillus cereus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
It's truly appalling what I've seen in American commercial kitchens over the years. Someone with gloves putting raw chicken or a burger on the grill by hand and then putting lettuce and tomato on a bun without washing or changing gloves. A spill on the floor wiped with a towel and then used to wipe a raw food prep counter. It's not the majority, but it's not rare either with entry level help making barely over minimum wage. Cloth towels are a significant expense and many kitchens ration them to as few as two per 5-6 hour shift. Disposable gloves cost about 6 cents each and when it gets up to over $60/week(as it should be in a busy kitchen) it starts to eat into the bottom line. When it gets very busy, cooks hands start to sweat and then trying to change gloves slows them down. "Fast casual" food chains in the US(Applebee's, Chili's) want the food out within 12 minutes or less nowadays and they are monitored to the second by computers. In part for service(what they claim) and also to flip the tables faster.
Like I said, this is in the US. I've seen and expect much worse in the DR. When I was a tourist in Sosua, I almost only ate out at Rocky's because the owner ate his own meals there. An onsite(ex-pat) owner to me is one of the better indicators of a somewhat sanitary kitchen.
This is what the man has: campylobateriosis. It was diagnosed by a stool sample. Our friend who is sick was the only person who had chicken at Sosua Ocean Village. He began suffering with symptoms shortly thereafter.
According to the CDC, this is what it is: Campylobacteriosis is an infectious disease caused by bacteria of the genus Campylobacter. Most people who become ill with campylobacteriosis get diarrhea, cramping, abdominal pain, and fever within two to five days after exposure to the organism. The diarrhea may be bloody and can be accompanied by nausea and vomiting.
This, according to the CDC is how people get it. Campylobacteriosis usually occurs in single, sporadic cases, but it can also occur in outbreaks, when a number of people become ill at one time. Most cases of campylobacteriosis are associated with eating raw or undercooked poultry meat or from cross-contamination of other foods by these items. Many chicken flocks are infected with Campylobacter but show no signs of illness. Campylobacter can be easily spread from bird to bird through a common water source or through contact with infected feces. When an infected bird is slaughtered, Campylobacter organisms can be transferred from the intestines to the meat.
Some simple food handling practices can help prevent Campylobacter infections.
Cook all poultry products thoroughly. Make sure that the meat is cooked throughout (no longer pink) and any juices run clear. All poultry should be cooked to reach a minimum internal temperature of 165 ?F.
If you are served undercooked poultry in a restaurant, send it back for further cooking.
Wash hands with soap before preparing food
Wash hands with soap after handling raw foods of animal origin and before touching anything else.
Prevent cross-contamination in the kitchen by using separate cutting boards for foods of animal origin and other foods and by carefully cleaning all cutting boards, countertops, and utensils with soap and hot water after preparing raw food of animal origin.
Avoid consuming unpasteurized milk and untreated surface water.
Make sure that persons with diarrhea, especially children, wash their hands carefully and frequently with soap to reduce the risk of spreading the infection.
Wash hands with soap after contact with pet feces.
Physicians who diagnose campylobacteriosis and clinical laboratories that identify this organism should report their findings to the local health department. If many cases occur at the same time, it may mean that many people were exposed to a common contaminated food item or water source which might still be available to infect more people. When outbreaks occur, community education efforts can be directed toward proper food handling techniques, and toward avoiding consumption of raw (not pasteurized) milk.
Lindsey
According to the CDC, this is what it is: Campylobacteriosis is an infectious disease caused by bacteria of the genus Campylobacter. Most people who become ill with campylobacteriosis get diarrhea, cramping, abdominal pain, and fever within two to five days after exposure to the organism. The diarrhea may be bloody and can be accompanied by nausea and vomiting.
This, according to the CDC is how people get it. Campylobacteriosis usually occurs in single, sporadic cases, but it can also occur in outbreaks, when a number of people become ill at one time. Most cases of campylobacteriosis are associated with eating raw or undercooked poultry meat or from cross-contamination of other foods by these items. Many chicken flocks are infected with Campylobacter but show no signs of illness. Campylobacter can be easily spread from bird to bird through a common water source or through contact with infected feces. When an infected bird is slaughtered, Campylobacter organisms can be transferred from the intestines to the meat.
Some simple food handling practices can help prevent Campylobacter infections.
Cook all poultry products thoroughly. Make sure that the meat is cooked throughout (no longer pink) and any juices run clear. All poultry should be cooked to reach a minimum internal temperature of 165 ?F.
If you are served undercooked poultry in a restaurant, send it back for further cooking.
Wash hands with soap before preparing food
Wash hands with soap after handling raw foods of animal origin and before touching anything else.
Prevent cross-contamination in the kitchen by using separate cutting boards for foods of animal origin and other foods and by carefully cleaning all cutting boards, countertops, and utensils with soap and hot water after preparing raw food of animal origin.
Avoid consuming unpasteurized milk and untreated surface water.
Make sure that persons with diarrhea, especially children, wash their hands carefully and frequently with soap to reduce the risk of spreading the infection.
Wash hands with soap after contact with pet feces.
Physicians who diagnose campylobacteriosis and clinical laboratories that identify this organism should report their findings to the local health department. If many cases occur at the same time, it may mean that many people were exposed to a common contaminated food item or water source which might still be available to infect more people. When outbreaks occur, community education efforts can be directed toward proper food handling techniques, and toward avoiding consumption of raw (not pasteurized) milk.
Lindsey
Hmm, these two sentences dont quite add up?? Unless it means within a period of time of UP TO 2-5 days.
However, my understanding with food poisoning is that it often takes longer than people think to set in and is quite possibly not the last meal eaten...there again it might have been.
Whatever, it sounds nasty
Hope they recover soon...
I don't feel that it is necessary to defend what I report. We ate at Ocean Village. The following morning, the man felt that something wasn't right. He flew home, but ate nothing all day. Had a queasy stomach. By the following day he was extremely sick. So sick he was messing the bed while asleep. We all ate at my home for other meals or someplace where we all had the same thing to eat, a pizza, fish, spaghetti, schnitzel. The exception was the final meal at Ocean Village.
If you want to question what I am reporting, that's fine with me. I don't have any ax to grind with anyone. It's just that we ate at Ocean Village and he got sick.
Lindsey
If you want to question what I am reporting, that's fine with me. I don't have any ax to grind with anyone. It's just that we ate at Ocean Village and he got sick.
Lindsey
I ate there once a short time after it opened. When I got the check just glancing at it I saw an item that was billed twice. I told the waiter and he did not even look surprised. He just said he would take it off. He did, but I got the feeling that this was common practice there. When I mentioned it to a friend of mine he said the same thing happened to a few people there, and that no one goes there any more. This from a local who eats out a lot.
I guees I was lucky because I gave up on this place after one and done.
I guees I was lucky because I gave up on this place after one and done.
As someone who became violently ill after a meal in the DR I believe that most people innately know the meal that made them sick.
There is no doubt in my mind that you are bang on with your assumption on where the bacteria was contracted.
Sorry to hear about this Lindsey. It is never pleasant for any visitor on vacation to catch this typical 'travelers diarhea'.
I hope your friend has a speedy recovery.
Acira
I hope your friend has a speedy recovery.
Acira
....a bit more than "travelers' diarrhea" included fever, chills, vomiting, bloating, and of course, the "runs". But appreciate your good wishes. Thanks.
Lindsey
it is also standard to use different coloured cutting boards and knives,( since 1999) inspections are very strict in hotels here, we have to keep daily records for temperatures in fridges, preparation areas, food preparation and exhibition. I guess some hotels and restaurants just dont care and are not part of the hygiene programs as it is an additional cost, the companies who do the inspections offer also many workshops about food handling, storage, preparation etc.
Ahhhh geeeez guys. Enough. I owned bars, Country Clubs and Rest. too. Who has not?
It appears that NOW EVERYONE is an expert.
The OP made a post. The OP has a very good history of posting what she/he knows as the truth.
With this thread going where it is going............................. NO ONE SHOULD EVER EAT OUT AGAIN! NOT EVEN AT YOUR FRIENDS HOUSE! DON'T EAT AT ALL!
I dooooo love my BBQ and my home water sanitation systems.
Come eat at my place. Beef is seasoned. All washed and clean. How about .....
RD $2000. at my place. You do the work, bring your LPG tank and your food.
Get a grip.
It appears that NOW EVERYONE is an expert.
The OP made a post. The OP has a very good history of posting what she/he knows as the truth.
With this thread going where it is going............................. NO ONE SHOULD EVER EAT OUT AGAIN! NOT EVEN AT YOUR FRIENDS HOUSE! DON'T EAT AT ALL!
I dooooo love my BBQ and my home water sanitation systems.
Come eat at my place. Beef is seasoned. All washed and clean. How about .....
RD $2000. at my place. You do the work, bring your LPG tank and your food.
Get a grip.
I caught that once when I was in Peru, fortunately not as severe as your friend had it. When I got back home to Canada I went to the doctor and after the lab checked a sample that was the diagnosis - Campylobacter. What was really surprising to me was when the local Board of Health phoned me at home to check on where and how I had contracted it, and to make sure I did not work in the food and hospitality industry.
Reading the CDC description they say it is one of the most common causes of intestinal diarhea in the U.S. Since it mainly comes from eating poultry, I have to wonder how common it is in the D.R. I guess it is a good thing they fry most things there!
Thanks for the warning Lyndsey, hopefully that restaurant cleans up their act.
Wow. I don't know how anyone could refute that someone got sick by eating at Sosua Ocean Village. Just....wow.
I'm willing to bet that those who do refute won't get in line to order a chicken dinner there any time soon.
The truth of the matter is, whether you get sick from the food or not, is that paying for "presentation", i.e. how the food appears on the plate at that restaurant, is really all you get for the money there. The food is better at so many other places for a lot less money. I've eaten at Sosua Ocean Village a few times and it disappointed....every single time.... because the meals I had there simply didn't taste good or the amount of food on the plate was bird sized, or both. The plate sure did look nice, though. The atmosphere of the place I really like, but their service, frankly, STINKS.
If you are willing to pay for how nice the food looks on the plate then please go to Sosua Ocean Village. If you are hungry and want great tasting food at a reasonable price, maybe you should eat elsewhere.
I'm willing to bet that those who do refute won't get in line to order a chicken dinner there any time soon.
The truth of the matter is, whether you get sick from the food or not, is that paying for "presentation", i.e. how the food appears on the plate at that restaurant, is really all you get for the money there. The food is better at so many other places for a lot less money. I've eaten at Sosua Ocean Village a few times and it disappointed....every single time.... because the meals I had there simply didn't taste good or the amount of food on the plate was bird sized, or both. The plate sure did look nice, though. The atmosphere of the place I really like, but their service, frankly, STINKS.
If you are willing to pay for how nice the food looks on the plate then please go to Sosua Ocean Village. If you are hungry and want great tasting food at a reasonable price, maybe you should eat elsewhere.
ive eatin at ocean viallage over 20 times and "NEVER' had a bad meal.... i will also say ive worked in many food based biz and know how easy you could get an infected piece of meat in the cleanest kitchens... sorry to the person who got i'll but my bet is that it wont happen again in ocean village.... if so,id check the kitchen staff, there must be an ex girlfriend in there....lol
It's not certain that a person knows innately what made them sick. A few years ago, my wife and I were in Barcelona. One day she had a sandwich of cured jamon for lunch. Within a day, she got very ill, and over the next couple of days, violently ill. We had to leave for home, where she was diagnosed with the same, Campylobacteriosis, as LK's friend. The docs determined that she had contracted the bacteria at the end of the week prior, where she had been on a business trip to Monaco, and had been served undercooked chicken, (not uncommon in French cuisine.) She was absolutely CERTAIN that the jamon had made her sick, and still has a major food aversion to it... but the scientific facts proved it was the chicken 3 or 4 days prior. No facts or logical reasoning can change her aversion though... it's impossible for her to eat cured jamon any more.
Seriously?
I re-read this post several times......it amazes me. How could it be EASY to "get an infected piece of meat in the cleanest of kitchens" unless there is a disregard of proper food procurement, storage, cooking, handling or holding temperatures? Perhaps your definition of "clean" is different than mine?
And what is the basis for your "bet" it won't happen again at Ocean Village? Why do you believe that? You just said it was "easy".
I re-read this post several times......it amazes me. How could it be EASY to "get an infected piece of meat in the cleanest of kitchens" unless there is a disregard of proper food procurement, storage, cooking, handling or holding temperatures? Perhaps your definition of "clean" is different than mine?
And what is the basis for your "bet" it won't happen again at Ocean Village? Why do you believe that? You just said it was "easy".
Wow, i mean just wow, Big Dan,
I'm not here to defend Sosua Village but, let's look at the facts and see what we can agree on.
1.) only person in the dinner party got sick.
2.) people get food borne illnesses here every single day, everywhere on this island.
3.) dozens of people eat at Sosua village everyday without getting sick, and working in a restaurant here on the beach, we would have heard by now if there was an endemic problem over there, given how small Cabarete/Sosua is, and the fact that i sit inside a restaurant everyday talking to people--including friends of mine who go to Gold's gym inside Sosua Village and eat lunch there 3 and 4 times a week after they work out. I've yet to still hear of other person getting sick. It could change tomorrow, next week, or in a few hours from now, but until then , how about giving them the benifit of doubt.
4. members here on DR1 eat there every week...still waiting to hear of one single other case.
Again, i'm not disputing that Sosua Village was 100% "not" the culprit, but its a pretty big indictment to make against an establishment with not one single iota of evidence to back up your accusation! like, for example...every one at the dinner party got sick. Now that would be a substantial piece of evidence; or three people got sick...or even two people got sick. but, just one person getting sick...it could have been anything during his last 48 hours here on the island that caused that.
Given the fact that just brushing your teeth here with tap water can cause some pretty big/severe stomach issues, and the fact that eating anywhere on this island can cause stomach problems, it's a pretty big indictment to make and people seem prone to falling--hook, line, and sinker, in being convinced that Sosua Village must be the culprit 100%.
Big Dan seems to have an issue with the pricing. I wouldn't consider his opinion as being objective, impartial, or detached from emotions. He's more upset with the prices.
Frank
I'm not here to defend Sosua Village but, let's look at the facts and see what we can agree on.
1.) only person in the dinner party got sick.
2.) people get food borne illnesses here every single day, everywhere on this island.
3.) dozens of people eat at Sosua village everyday without getting sick, and working in a restaurant here on the beach, we would have heard by now if there was an endemic problem over there, given how small Cabarete/Sosua is, and the fact that i sit inside a restaurant everyday talking to people--including friends of mine who go to Gold's gym inside Sosua Village and eat lunch there 3 and 4 times a week after they work out. I've yet to still hear of other person getting sick. It could change tomorrow, next week, or in a few hours from now, but until then , how about giving them the benifit of doubt.
4. members here on DR1 eat there every week...still waiting to hear of one single other case.
Again, i'm not disputing that Sosua Village was 100% "not" the culprit, but its a pretty big indictment to make against an establishment with not one single iota of evidence to back up your accusation! like, for example...every one at the dinner party got sick. Now that would be a substantial piece of evidence; or three people got sick...or even two people got sick. but, just one person getting sick...it could have been anything during his last 48 hours here on the island that caused that.
Given the fact that just brushing your teeth here with tap water can cause some pretty big/severe stomach issues, and the fact that eating anywhere on this island can cause stomach problems, it's a pretty big indictment to make and people seem prone to falling--hook, line, and sinker, in being convinced that Sosua Village must be the culprit 100%.
Big Dan seems to have an issue with the pricing. I wouldn't consider his opinion as being objective, impartial, or detached from emotions. He's more upset with the prices.
Frank
It's the chicken... it's the chicken. If he was the only one eating chicken.... he could have gotten it at the restaurant when nobody else did.
CaptnGlenn,
Some people here are so quick to point the finger and make accusations and indictments against an establishment when the fact remains that only one person in the dinner party got sick. And on an island where food borne illnesses run so rampant as to make Mother Theresa blush. Its a strong indictment to make against a restaurant without any corroborating evidence (I.E other people getting sick at the same restaurant) to back up the claim.
Frank
Some people here are so quick to point the finger and make accusations and indictments against an establishment when the fact remains that only one person in the dinner party got sick. And on an island where food borne illnesses run so rampant as to make Mother Theresa blush. Its a strong indictment to make against a restaurant without any corroborating evidence (I.E other people getting sick at the same restaurant) to back up the claim.
Frank