The Barton County Health Department (BCHD), Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) and the Kansas Department of Agriculture are investigating an outbreak of gastrointestinal illness associated with a meal delivered to a private business in Great Bend, Kansas on Friday, November 9, 2018. This is more than likely an isolated instance.

Preliminary results indicate Staphylococcus aureus was the cause of this outbreak. Staph food poisoning is a gastrointestinal illness caused by eating foods contaminated with toxins produced by the Staph bacteria. Through this investigation, it was determined some of the food served may have been held at an unsafe temperature.

The best way to avoid food poisoning by Staph is to prevent food from being held at an unsafe temperature (between 40°F and 140°F) for more than two hours.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, KDHE, and BCHD recommend the following food safety tips.
 Use a food thermometer and cook food to their safe minimum internal temperature.
 Keep hot foods hot (140°F or hotter) and cold foods cold (40°F or colder).
 Store cooked food in wide, shallow containers and refrigerate within 2 hours (or 1 hour if it’s hotter than 90°F outside).
 Wash your hands for 20 seconds with soap and water before, during, and after preparing food, and before eating.

More information on Staph food poisoning can be found at https://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/diseases/staphylococcal.html.