Last fall, several students at the University of North Carolina became ill with E. coli O157:H7 infections after eating at McAlister’s Deli. In a follow-up story on that outbreak, the Daily Tarheel reports that the Orange County Environmental Health Department’s final report also showed a strong statistical likelihood that the restaurant’s lettuce was the source of the infections.
Though Orange County interim environmental health director Tom Konsler said in a November interview that food-borne illnesses can strike even the cleanest restaurant, a health inspection conducted on Oct. 24 gave McAlister’s a raw score of 89.
That score included deductions for improperly storing meat, improper handwashing and hygiene and improper handling of utensils.