The parents of an 18-month-old and a 4-year-old who were sickened by E. coli from a local restaurant weren’t happy with a Brazos County Health Department news conference on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, the doctor who ate a taco from the restaurant from which the bacteria was traced, issued an apology.

Dr. Eric Wilke told News 3, “I did have the opportunity to speak with Mr. Melton yesterday and offered my heartfelt apology that I offended him and his family. I would never want to lessen the gravity of what they experienced. Mr. Melton was very gracious and I appreciate his willingness to speak to me. If my comments and actions gave anyone the impression, other than what we felt in terms of concern, then I would like to offer my apology to them and ask for their forgiveness.”

Dr. Wilke says eating the taco at the news conference on Tuesday was simply an attempt to quell some of the public concern about food safety.

It was a dumb attempt.