In a recent salmonella outbreak from the Fig & Olive Restaurants in Washington earlier this fall reveals that the high end food chain is heavily dependent on pre-made and pre-cooked frozen from a supplier in New York.
The restaurant's expensive $26 truffle risotto for example is a pre-made dish that is reheated with the restaurant's choice of cheese when ordered. Once cooked, it's then garnished and served.
Public health officials were not able to recover samples from the commissary in New York. This disabled them from testing the food groups for possible salmonella strain sources.
However, health officials can confirm that the food samples or environmental (restaurant and surrounding spaces) factors from Fig & Olive tested negative for salmonella.
Though that is the case, both the restaurant and health testers are suspecting the truffle oil as the most likely cause if not the pre-made and pre-cooked frozen consignments.
In the latest report, 60 people have fallen ill from salmonella. All 60 of them have indicated that they have ingested food from the CityCenterDC branch. The branch was closed in September but thereafter, about 39 more people have fallen ill in the West Hollywood, CA branch this time.
Because of these reports, Fig & Olive has removed the following items from its menus:
For further prevention, Fig & Olive has also reportedly changed its truffle oil suppliers to a different one to scratch off the suspected link to the truffle oil.
In a statement online from Fig & Olive:
Commissaries are routinely used by upscale restaurant groups that serve a high volume of customers to ensure consistency in food quality and service. We had a commissary that was utilized for specific items by our New York outposts and selectively nationwide, which we closed in September 2015. The vast majority of ingredients served at our restaurants are locally sourced from vendors and farms. Currently all of our dishes are prepared in house at each location.
Authorities continue to monitor the outbreak concerned with the upscale food chain with regards to food safety.