‘Food safety is very very important’ 390 sick after attending Kansas dinner theater

Nearly 400 people have reported feeling ill after recently dining at a suburban Kansas City dinner theater, with some testing positive for norovirus, health officials said on Thursday.

norovirus-2The diners who fell ill had eaten at the New Theatre Restaurant in Overland Park, Kansas since Jan. 15, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment said in a news release.

 “Food safety is very important to us,” said theater vice president Rob McGraw. “We are inspected regularly and it is very, very important to us.”

According to the Department of Agriculture, a follow-up inspection at the theater three days after the outbreak found nine violations, including an employee who handed a tray of raw chicken with gloved hands and then handled a pan of fried chicken.