Sick after going to a restaurant: "Wherever cooking is done, there is always a risk"

According to the Frankfurt Public Order Office, the Frankfurt restaurant, after which 65 people contracted a gastrointestinal disease in early April, is not one of the companies that have attracted attention in the past due to poor hygiene.

It is not a "black sheep of the industry," said a spokesman on Tuesday when asked.

“But there is always a risk where cooking takes place.”

Monica Ganster

Editor in the Rhein-Main-Zeitung.

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Petra Kirchhoff

Editor in the Rhein-Main-Zeitung.

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The restaurant promptly informed the authorities of the incidents and applied for closure itself on April 18, one day later the regulatory office ordered an official closure until further notice.

Only the authorities can open it again.

As a restaurant, the company belongs to the risk class that requires a semi-annual check, the regulatory office informs.

We have complied with this rule.

The inspectors last visited the company last fall, on October 12.

As reported, during the most recent routine check on April 4, the inspectors did not find any abnormalities.

However, the operators were forbidden to use a spice paste because it is not marketable and edible in Germany, as it is said.

A sample was taken from a retailer of this paste in Dreieich, which is currently being examined in a food laboratory.

Samples of a peanut sauce and a chicken powder, which are possible sources of infection, were also sent to the laboratory for examination.

Conclusive results are not yet available

As the Frankfurt health department reported on request, those affected had reported their complaints to the regulatory office, all in all 65 people within ten days.

The health department was informed of the incident by the food safety authority last week.

A stool sample was ordered for two patients who were still symptomatic.

According to the health department, the previous tests for the most common pathogens that come into question have not led to any results.

The pathogen itself is usually the cause of the disease, but conclusive results have so far been lacking.

The health department recommends anyone who gets a stomach ache after visiting a restaurant to contact their family doctor about the complaints and the food supervisory authority at the public order office if they suspect the source in the restaurant.

Meanwhile, many consumers on social media are wondering why the food safety authorities aren't naming horses and riders on the Internet.

For such cases, there is the hygiene deficiency portal of the Hessian Ministry of the Environment, which can be accessed at

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"Relatively long" until restaurant name is published

If there are significant violations of hygiene that are punishable by a fine of at least 350 euros, the authorities are legally obliged to inform the public by naming the company.

However, they do not have to choose the country's hygiene portal for this, they can also provide information on their own pages.

The city of Frankfurt provides information via the portal.

The responsible Frankfurt public order office justifies the fact that the closed restaurant is not yet on the side with the obligation to hear the operator of the restaurant beforehand.

A spokeswoman for the Hessian Ministry of the Environment describes the period of time between the detection of a defect and publication as "relatively long", since it must first be clear that a fine of more than 350 euros is likely to be imposed or that criminal charges will be filed.

The last Frankfurt report in the hygiene portal dates from March 11th.

The hygiene portal has only been receiving reports again since 2019.

In the meantime, the pillory, which is also a popular topic, has been closed because there were disagreements at federal level about how long the name of an offending company should be published there.

Finally, the countries agreed on six months.

The good thing for the company: If everything is in order again, the results of the follow-up and interim checks are also recorded on the portal.

Irrespective of this, the Ministry of the Environment makes it clear in its hygiene portal that the publications - based on §40 1a of the Food and Feed Code - do not represent a warning against the listed foods.

Public warnings of this kind about products that are harmful to health, such as recently about sweets from the chocolate manufacturer Ferrero, can be found on the nationwide Internet platform

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