Whole Foods in Detroit Is Probed Amid Link to Hepatitis A
October 20 2016 - 7:05PM
Dow Jones News
By Ezequiel Minaya and Jesse Newman
Health officials in Detroit have opened an investigation into a
local Whole Foods Market Inc. store over fears that two recently
diagnosed cases of hepatitis A may be linked to the grocer's
prepared-foods section.
Whole Foods released a statement saying that a Detroit employee
who handles prepared food was diagnosed with Hepatitis A, leading
the company to contact health officials and review its food logs
and safety procedures.
A company spokeswoman said Whole Foods was informed by the
Detroit Health Department of a second case of Hepatitis A in a
person who shops at the store, though it isn't clear the person
shopped there during a time period when he or she could have been
infected.
Whole Foods said the diagnosed worker was "a nighttime runner"
who moves food from the back of the store where it is made to where
it is displayed. The worker moved prepared foods like rolled
breakfast tacos and voluntarily informed Whole Foods of the
diagnosis. The health department was in the store on Monday, and
some workers chose to be inoculated against the illness.
"This employee did the right thing and allowed us to contact the
health department in quick fashion," said Brooke Buchanan, a
spokeswoman for Whole Foods.
"We are cooperating fully with the Detroit Health Department to
ensure the safety of our customers and team members," Whole Food
said in a statement.
Prepared foods have become an increasingly popular offering by
grocers given the products' higher profit margins and consumers'
increasing desire for ready-to-eat meals.
The growing prevalence of prepared foods, however, has come with
increasing health safety concerns. As prepared-food offerings
increase in volume and complexity, the risk of food-safety issues
also grows, with supermarkets now facing safety concerns that have
beset the restaurant industry for years.
Whole Foods, a trailblazer in the sale of fresh-cooked items,
was recently forced to temporarily shutter one of its commercial
kitchens producing fresh meals for stores. The move was a response
to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's warning over safety gaps
in the company's Boston-area plant.
And last year, Whole Foods recalled batches of its curry chicken
salad and classic deli pasta salad from stores along the East Coast
after products tested positive for a dangerous form of listeria
during a routine inspection of its Massachusetts facility. The
items were sold in salad bars, chefs' cases and sandwiches and
wraps prepared at Whole Foods stores.
Also last year, an E.coli outbreak erupted, linked to rotisserie
chicken salad made at Costco Wholesale Corp. that sickened 19
people, mostly in the western U.S. Deli foods from the Boise Co-Op,
a natural-foods grocer in Idaho, were also tied to a salmonella
outbreak last year that sickened nearly 300 people.
Whole Foods has long offered prepared foods in its stores. Its
new chain, geared toward younger, price-savvy shoppers, 365 by
Whole Foods Market, also emphasizes in-store dining.
Hepatitis A, a viral infection of the liver, is highly
contagious. People typically contract it by consuming contaminated
food or water or through direct contact with an infected person. It
doesn't result in chronic infection and can be prevented by
vaccination, according to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.
Write to Ezequiel Minaya at ezequiel.minaya@wsj.com and Jesse
Newman at jesse.newman@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 20, 2016 18:50 ET (22:50 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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