FacilityInspection

Complaint

Facility	WENDYS
Date Of Complaint	04/27/2012
Complaint Type	Food Borne Illness
Complaint	Caller states that she had a fried chicken sandwich from the facility that tasted "fishy". Within 2 hours of eating the sandwich, she developed diarrhea that lasted all night.
Investigation Start Date	05/01/2012
InvestigationHistory	4-27-2012: Received complaint via telephone on this day. Caller is a resident of MS but does not live in this area. She was in the Madison County area on business. The complainant also had discrepancies with two other food facilities in the county but only choose to report this one after she developed diarrhea. (Facility #1, she says they served her ribs that weren't completely done, which she still ate and did not return to the facility. Facility #2, she says they served her a chicken sandwich that tasted "fishy", which she still ate and did not return to the facility.) At third facility in which the complaint was placed upon, the complainant ordered two chicken sandwiches with the intent to eat one that day and heat the second one up on the next day. When eating the first sandwich the complainant states that the sandwich tasted extremely "fishy" and then she developed diarrhea that lasted through the night. The caller did not have a stool sample but she was certain that it was a food borne illness due to her experience in "healthcare". The complainant spoke with management from Wendy's who told her she could bring the additional sandwich back for a full refund. It was also revealed to the young lady during the conversation with Wendy's personnel that they change the cooking oil in the fryers once per week. By the time the young lady called the Health Dept., she was infuriated that WE would allow them to use the same grease for a week at a time. It was explained to her that the Health Dept/Food Code has no regulation over "how often" facilities should change their cooking oil. That is usually a part of the corporate policy for that particular franchise. The inspector went on to explain that the oil in commercial fryers is usually heated to 300-400 degrees F, the food usually comes out at 200++ degrees F, and any biological contaminant that could cause food borne illness is killed after 15 seconds at 165 degrees F max. Older frying oil may alter the intended flavor of the food and that may make one feel sick to the stomach if it is not an appetizing flavor BUT that is not the same thing as a food borne illness. The complainant stated that she still didn't think it still wasn't right, in her opinion. She thanked me for my time and got off the phone. 5-1-2012: Inspector EM5 went to the facility and met with the manager. He was aware of the complaint and said that he had given the young lady a $5 refund for her purchases (2 - 99 cent chicken sandwiches, 1 - 99 cent fry, and 1 - 99 cent drink). The manager also stated that they hadn't served/prepared fish sandwich a whole week before the complaint occurred; the fryer oil is changed every Monday and filtered 3 times per day. On this day of inspection, the oil in the fryers was observed at 350 degrees F, any biological agent that could cause food borne illness would be killed after 15 seconds at 165 degrees F max.
Date Of Resolution	05/01/2012
Enforcement Action	N/A

Data Disclaimer
Data in this system come from two very different systems
Some inspections in the old system may be missing prior to July 2002
Day Care Centers & Youth Camps Inspections prior to June 2005
If in doubt about any facility, call the responsible health department
Data are for informational purposes, not enforcement