Woman speaks out: 150 sickened at bicoastal Fig and Olive Salmonella outbreak

A Studio City woman said she is still recovering a month after getting salmonella poisoning at the popular West Hollywood restaurant Fig & Olive, and wants to let others know how she found out she was infected.

fig.oliveJust one of 12 people connected to a salmonella outbreak at the restaurant on Melrose Place, Nikky Berteau found out about the outbreak from the health department, which was able to get her the care that she needed.

The agency was able to find her because she happened to call and make reservations, leaving her name and phone number in the restaurant’s records.

“My stomach starts to hurt, cramps,” she recalled. “I was nauseous, throwing up. I had a severe headache. Everything bad you could think of was happening at that point.”

She never connected her illness to the pricey $600 dinner she and her friends and family enjoyed two days earlier. She assumed it was a stomach virus.

“Basically just locked up in my room in bed throwing up,” Berteau said. 

Finally she went to a hospital, was tested, put on antibiotics and sent home.

“It just kept getting worse,” she said.

She learned there had been multiple cases involving people across the country, more than 150 linked to Fig & Olive restaurants on both coasts.

She also found an attorney.

“He immediately filed a complaint in federal court,” Berteau said.

Berteau said she has not heard from Fig & Olive since the illness struck. 

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About Douglas Powell

A former professor of food safety and the publisher of barfblog.com, Powell is passionate about food, has five daughters, and is an OK goaltender in pickup hockey. Download Doug’s CV here. Dr. Douglas Powell editor, barfblog.com retired professor, food safety 3/289 Annerley Rd Annerley, Queensland 4103 dpowell29@gmail.com 61478222221 I am based in Brisbane, Australia, 15 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time