In a breathtaking example of doublespeak, the Chicago Department of Public Health is reporting today that,
"As anticipated, reports of illnesses related to the Pars Cove Persian Cuisine booth at Taste of Chicago are slowing down considerably. As of noon today, a total of 678 people have reported that they became ill after they ate food purchased from the Pars Cove Persian Cuisine booth—up from the 636 reported Tuesday."
I’m sure that’s a tremendous relief to the 678 people sickened after eating food purchased from the Pars Cove Persian Cuisine booth at the Taste of Chicago extravaganza. Details are available in the latest International Food Safety Network infosheet.
In what is possibly the biggest piece of PR puffery I’ve ever seen, the health department continues to stress:
"The Pars Cove situation represents the first confirmed outbreak of illness associated with the event in at least 20 years. In the larger context of having safely served tens of millions of people in recent years, the Taste remains quite possibly the safest food service operation in the city.
"Taste of Chicago is by far the most intensively regulated food service operation in the city. The event features a 24-hour-a-day food safety presence – teams of CDPH sanitarians inspect and re-inspect the 70-plus food booths from 8:30 a.m. to midnight each day, and staff hired by the Illinois Restaurant Association monitors and logs the temperatures in the refrigerated storage trucks overnight.
"All vendors are required to undergo training to prepare, serve and store food safely under outdoor conditions. Scrutiny is intense. A food booth is typically inspected at least four times each day, while a typical city restaurant is inspected twice a year.
While most vendors do an exceptionally good job of ensuring food safety, the intense scrutiny typically results in CDPH ordering the disposal of food that does not meet its exacting standards. Each year, about 2,000 pounds of food (an average of 200 pounds a day) at the event are disposed of by order of CDPH inspectors."
Reports are suggesting the hummus, which contains fresh tomatoes, as the source of the illness. Salmonella — Tomatoes? Maybe. What was the source of the tomatoes and other fresh ingredients served in the hummus? The 678 sick people would probably like to know, rather than be told they are a statistical anomaly .