Would you tell them their food made you sick?

[Shoo]

Last night my husband and daughter and I had dinner at a local Mexican restaurant.  At around 1 a.m., I was so sick I couldn't see straight.  It was quite obvious that I had food poisoning.

My daughter and I shared lunch yesterday, so I know it wasn't what we ate because she was fine.  At dinner, we all ate the same stuff except for one thing:  I had shrimp in my meal.  I'm just certain that's what made me sick.

Problem is, this restaurant is owned by our neighbors, and we go there at least once a week.  Sometimes twice a week!  After last night, I don't ever want to go there again.

Would you tell them what happened?  I'm leaning toward just not ever going back, but my husband loves this place, and since HE didn't get sick    he doesn't see why we shouldn't keep going there.  I just wonder if mentioning my illness would be the right thing to do. 

[cicero]

this is a restaurant, not having a meal at your neighbor's house. You should notify the restaurant so they cna check their food and notify the health dept as well. this is a safety thing. if you got sick, then most of the people who ate that got sick - and those who will eat it today as well.

[Margo]

Yes, tell them. Call the restaurant, as you're telling them in their professional, not personal capacity.
Quite apart from anything else, they will want to check if there is an issue with their supplier or chef.

I hope you feel better soon

[Amava]

Oh heavens, yes! If I was the restaurant owner and your neighbour, I would certainly want to know if something I served made someone ill, so I could investigate on the cause on it and also so that I could make it right to you!

[Dazi]

Well, I had this exact thing happen last year. 

I called the owner and explained what happened.  He said there were no other reports of anyone getting sick, but he would double check with the staff for any complaints just to be sure. 
He called me later on that day and said there were still no other reports from anyone else.


I did go back because I love this particular Mexican restaurant.  I ate the same exact meal...then got violently ill again.  Turned out I was experiencing the onset of a shellfish allergy.  The next time I ate shrimp is when I actually had an obvious reaction of itching, swelling and hives.  The first two times I would have sworn I had food poisoning with all the typically symptoms.

So it really might have been food poisoning, might not have been, or could have been some other stomach bug.

I'd would still call and ask if they had any reports of anyone else getting ill.  It could help stop others from getting sick if it is a food borne illness.

[Just Lori]

I would notify the restaurant, but I wouldn't say I had gotten food poisoning from their food.  Rather, I'd give them a heads up that I had gotten violently ill after eating at the restaurant, and let them know that the shrimp was the only thing I had that was different from the others in my party.  Let them take it from there.

[doodlemor]

"Neighbor, I am so, so sorry to have to call you like this.  I need to tell you that I got very, very sick last night after I ate in your restaurant. 

The only thing that I had different from my family was shrimp in my meal.  Now, it's always possible that I picked up a virus somewhere. 

However, i did think that I had better let you know, in case you have gotten a bad batch of shrimp from your supplier."

[TootsNYC]

I wouldn't call the neighbor at home; I'd call the restaurant. It's a business matter.

But if I got sick after eating at a friend's house, I'd still call the friend. They need to know as well!

[Amara]

Definitely notify them. Be aware, however, that the shrimp could have been mishandled at any point along its journey from sea to plate. In other words, it wasn't necessarily the restaurant's fault. The boat could have not iced its shrimp well enough. Perhaps it sat out at the point where it went from boat to truck. Maybe the wholesaler didn't take enough care. Or it could have happened at the restaurant.

[Kestrels Nemesis]

One other thing to realize is that some types of food poisoning (there are over a dozen common varieties of food poisoning) can take up to a week or more to show an onset of symptoms.  So while you may think it was last nights shrimp it may have been a salad from last week that really caused it.  That seems to be one of the reasons that it takes companies so long to start recalls of tainted food.  It can take a long time to track down and correlate the causes!

If you feel you must call the restaurant, Doodlemor's wording sounds the least accusatory.

[Ceallach]

If you owned a restaurant, wouldn't you want to know if there was a potential issue that could drive away customers or lead to health code violations?  I think it would be inconsiderate NOT to report it!

As long as you stick to the facts - you don't know for certain what caused it - and use a helpful, non-accusatory tone, then you should be fine. If there is a problem them you're doing them a favour by raising it. If there isn't a problem then no harm done - you're not creating a fuss or running to the media, just politely advising them of an adverse event and potential issue. To me it's a no brainer. If they get offended by it then they are in the wrong here.

[delabela]

I would say something - I think the approach of being concerned they got a bad product is a good one.  You never know - maybe they changed suppliers recently. 

[Katana_Geldar]

Mentioning this is a good idea, as it might not just be a bad product. There's all sorts if things that can happen in a kitchen to lead to food poisoning.

There was a bad case of it near where I uses to live, a few people were hospitalised. They finally traced it to the piping bag used for cream which was not washed properly between uses. It want the product, it was the staff.

[rose red]

Please report it.  What if someone got sicker (or worse) than what happened to you.  The owners might lose their livelihood or get in really deep trouble.  Tossing out a shipment of shrimp is a small price to pay in the long run.  Or they might find out their food is fine and that's peace of mind too.

[Shoo]

Okay, I think I'll call this afternoon and speak to our neighbor to let him know what happened.  I'm sure he'd want to be able to address it.  It just feels so awkward.