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When the World?s Top Restaurant Serves Up a Bug
By Lisa Abend
March 10, 2013
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The facts are these: during the week of Feb. 12?16, 63 of the 435 people who dined at Noma became ill. First word of the problem came on the night of Feb. 14, when a Danish couple e-mailed the restaurant to inform them that they had become sick after eating there. The e-mail was opened by an office staff member the following morning, but because she did not speak Danish, she forwarded the message to a floor manager, who in turn did not read it until returning on Feb. 18 from his day off. That same morning, the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration, which had also received notification of the problem, contacted the restaurant. Laboratory results confirmed the norovirus diagnosis. ?It was our worst nightmare,? says Redzepi. ?We?re in this business to make people happy, so when we first found out about it and announced it at the staff meeting, the entire team ? all 80 people ? just went white.?
The news was especially hard for a restaurant that takes health so seriously that it annually brings in a doctor to administer flu shots to staff who want them. But norovirus is a tough rival, both notoriously easy to transmit and notoriously difficult to kill. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the bug causes about 20 million cases each year in the U.S. alone, and this year looks to be especially bad thanks to the introduction of a new strain called GII 4 Sydney. Already, the U.K. has reported a 63% increase in the number of cases this season (norovirus is more prevalent from November to April) over last, for a total thus far of 1.2 million affected. In 2012, Denmark had 22 restaurant-based outbreaks, sickening 800 people. Although thorough hand washing is the most frequently prescribed preventative measure, tests have shown that norovirus can survive both soap and hot and cold temperatures. A study published in December 2012 in the scientific journal PLOS One found that even professional dishwashing ? using detergent and machines set to 49?C ? failed to eradicate the virus.
In Noma?s case, health authorities believe the virus was likely introduced by a staff member who had perhaps consumed infected shellfish. One staff member reported feeling sick after he got home from service on the night of Feb. 15 and was told not to go to work the following day, but it wasn?t until the following Tuesday that food he had touched was thrown out. Two other staff members also fell ill.
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By Lisa Abend
March 10, 2013
...
The facts are these: during the week of Feb. 12?16, 63 of the 435 people who dined at Noma became ill. First word of the problem came on the night of Feb. 14, when a Danish couple e-mailed the restaurant to inform them that they had become sick after eating there. The e-mail was opened by an office staff member the following morning, but because she did not speak Danish, she forwarded the message to a floor manager, who in turn did not read it until returning on Feb. 18 from his day off. That same morning, the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration, which had also received notification of the problem, contacted the restaurant. Laboratory results confirmed the norovirus diagnosis. ?It was our worst nightmare,? says Redzepi. ?We?re in this business to make people happy, so when we first found out about it and announced it at the staff meeting, the entire team ? all 80 people ? just went white.?
The news was especially hard for a restaurant that takes health so seriously that it annually brings in a doctor to administer flu shots to staff who want them. But norovirus is a tough rival, both notoriously easy to transmit and notoriously difficult to kill. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the bug causes about 20 million cases each year in the U.S. alone, and this year looks to be especially bad thanks to the introduction of a new strain called GII 4 Sydney. Already, the U.K. has reported a 63% increase in the number of cases this season (norovirus is more prevalent from November to April) over last, for a total thus far of 1.2 million affected. In 2012, Denmark had 22 restaurant-based outbreaks, sickening 800 people. Although thorough hand washing is the most frequently prescribed preventative measure, tests have shown that norovirus can survive both soap and hot and cold temperatures. A study published in December 2012 in the scientific journal PLOS One found that even professional dishwashing ? using detergent and machines set to 49?C ? failed to eradicate the virus.
In Noma?s case, health authorities believe the virus was likely introduced by a staff member who had perhaps consumed infected shellfish. One staff member reported feeling sick after he got home from service on the night of Feb. 15 and was told not to go to work the following day, but it wasn?t until the following Tuesday that food he had touched was thrown out. Two other staff members also fell ill.
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