Son of a Bun: FSAI closure

fmcato

They are reopening:
http://www.corkindependent.com/news/topics/articles/2016/07/08/4122980-son-of-a-bun-to-reopen/

GavRedKing

I'll still choose it over Coqbull anyway.

hufpc8w3adnk65

A Cork burger restaurant which was served a closure notice by the FSAI will reopen today.

Son of a Bun has confirmed that the HSE are satisfied that the restaurant has met all of the food safety and safety and public health requirements. The MacCurtain Street diner will reopen today at noon.

In a statement the restaurant said: “We are committed to bringing you great tasting food, served in a restaurant with great atmosphere and from a kitchen with absolute highest hygiene standards.

“We have committed to the HSE that we will serve our burgers cooked to 75 degrees in future to allay any concerns regarding pink (medium) burgers.

“Our closure order has been lifted because the HSE are satisfied that our restaurant meets all their food safety and public health requirements, and that we can now resume service.”

The closure notice was served to Son of a Bun on 29 June by FSAI in relation to structural issues (layout, storage, zoning of foodstuffs) on site at the premises.

A HSE-led outbreak control team working closely with the FSAI had been investigating an outbreak of Verotoxigenic E. coli O157 gastroenteritis centred in Cork. Eight adult cases have been microbiologically confirmed.

A HSE statement earlier during the week said: “A Cork food business has been identified as a common link between the cases. The investigation has focussed on this business, with the cooperation of the proprietors. The premises remains closed at present. The investigation is ongoing. No definitive cause for the outbreak has been found to date, but investigators are satisfied that the outbreak has been brought under control.”

In a statement confirmed by the restaurant, four staff member had tested positive to carrying bacteria linked with Ecoli.

I've never eaten there but will never eat there after this. This isn't hearsay or Chinese whispers. This was under cooked food served causing people to get sick. In my opinion (and I hope I'm wrong as Cork needs as many busy outlets as possible) the place will never recover from this. I don't think I'll be the only one turned off. On the good side tho GavRedKing and others who aren't should have no issues getting a table

leahyl

Having seen the above article, it would now make me hesitant to go back there, even though it most likely will be extremely safe now - but it should have been that way to begin with!

I had only been to Son of a Bun once, and I did enjoy it, but have to say that I've been to Coqbull way more and always enjoyed that - never had a bad burger there.

Water John

Mac84 is right, there has been a number of people diagnosed with e coli 157 in Cork in the last while.

Pink burgers are a higher risk than rare steak. Rare steak is flash heated on the outside, where is the only place for the bugs. Burger on the other hand is minced meat so bacteria on the surface of the meat are thus mixed into the burger. Would not eat them.

Pregnant women steer clear of unpartuerised cheese because of the risk from clostridia. Also they stay clear of sheep lambing for the same reason.

Milk was mainly pastuerised for brucellosis/undulant fever. That risk is now gone. Raw milk is now low risk I would think.

CHealy

I went there upto 10 times over the course of the last year, genuinely the best burger I've ever had. But now Im not so sure I'll be able to get over the ecoli thing, its a bit like seeing that one fella in school picking his nose, you'll always associate him with that. Not sure I'd be able to go in there and not think about it, no matter how clean it is. Shame it was so public, could have done with not hearing about it.

hufpc8w3adnk65

CHealy wrote: »

I went there upto 10 times over the course of the last year, genuinely the best burger I've ever had. But now Im not so sure I'll be able to get over the ecoli thing, its a bit like seeing that one fella in school picking his nose, you'll always associate him with that. Not sure I'd be able to go in there and not think about it, no matter how clean it is. Shame it was so public, could have done with not hearing about it.

That's my point. I think a lot of people kinda go by the motto "what I dunno won't hurt me" when it comes to food and preparation but after this now everyone knows. People who still go will dissect the food before cosumption and then in the back of their heads will have a niggling feeling thus impacting the food/experience again lads this is only my opinion

Dbu

Have to say Ive eaten there in the past, but like some of the others I probably wont go back. I do wish them well though as a local business

Water John

Its probably a very safe eating place now. Had intended going there, will soon.
Having taken the pink burger off the menu also helps.

Food hygiene is a bigger in issue in the summer. Not due to temp, its Ireland, but the casual temp staff that are taken on.

gctest50

MrMac84 wrote: »

A Cork burger restaurant which was served a closure notice by the FSAI will reopen today.

Son of a Bun has confirmed that the HSE are satisfied that the restaurant has met all of the food safety and safety and public health requirements. The MacCurtain Street diner will reopen today at noon.

In a statement the restaurant said: “We are committed to bringing you great tasting food, served in a restaurant with great atmosphere and from a kitchen with absolute highest hygiene standards.

“We have committed to the HSE that we will serve our burgers cooked to 75 degrees in future to allay any concerns regarding pink (medium) burgers.

“Our closure order has been lifted because the HSE are satisfied that our restaurant meets all their food safety and public health requirements, and that we can now resume service.”

The closure notice was served to Son of a Bun on 29 June by FSAI in relation to structural issues (layout, storage, zoning of foodstuffs) on site at the premises.

A HSE-led outbreak control team working closely with the FSAI had been investigating an outbreak of Verotoxigenic E. coli O157 gastroenteritis centred in Cork. Eight adult cases have been microbiologically confirmed.

A HSE statement earlier during the week said: “A Cork food business has been identified as a common link between the cases. The investigation has focussed on this business, with the cooperation of the proprietors. The premises remains closed at present. The investigation is ongoing.

No definitive cause for the outbreak has been found to date,


but investigators are satisfied that the outbreak has been brought under control.”

In a statement confirmed by the restaurant, four staff member had tested positive to carrying bacteria linked with Ecoli.

I've never eaten there but will never eat there after this. This isn't hearsay or Chinese whispers. This was under cooked food served causing people to get sick. In my opinion (and I hope I'm wrong as Cork needs as many busy outlets as possible) the place will never recover from this. I don't think I'll be the only one turned off. On the good side tho GavRedKing and others who aren't should have no issues getting a table

from the very thing you quoted :

No definitive cause for the outbreak has been found to date,

11214

gctest50 wrote: »

from the very thing you quoted :

The common link is good enough for me, we were going in later but after this I don't think I will be.

hufpc8w3adnk65

gctest50 wrote: »

from the very thing you quoted :

I may be reading between the lines a little but that's my opinion on it.

daveyjoe

11214 wrote: »

The common link is good enough for me, we were going in later but after this I don't think I will be.

In fairness half the people of Cork have eaten in Son of a Bun in the last couple of months, it's probably the busiest restaurant in Cork. We'd really need to have more details to make a better judgement on whether it's more than just a correlation.

Pink burgers can be safe if they are sourced correctly and high food safety standards are upheld. Finding ecoli related bacteria on staff is actually not that unusual in the average restaurant, it can be more or less serious depending on the strain and bacteria count.

Ultimately though, if you are going to serve burgers like this then the staff need to be well trained and remain very vigilant with food safety and hygiene. It sounds like that may not have happened in this case.

Water John

It's relatively simple. Even from a commercial point of view, if I owned such a business, very dependant on customer goodwill, I would not risk pink burgers.

Hopefully, lesson learned.

Dept of Ag are very stringent/difficult if one wanted to sell unpastuerised milk.
Can't see pink burger getting past them.

gctest50

Water John wrote: »

It's relatively simple. Even from a commercial point of view, if I owned such a business, very dependant on customer goodwill, I would not risk pink burgers.
...............

Salad will happily carry the ecoli :

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC182227/pdf/aem00036-0015.pdf

bladebrew

Their new burger of the month is called The Well Done:D:D:D

That is genius!

I will still go back, I would never touch any meat that was Pink though, I was wondering how they were allowed serve Pink burgers, turns out they were not really allowed!?

Lyaiera

I honestly don't blame SOAB for this. I would have thought everyone was aware of the dangers of "pink burgers." I know a lot of people who like steak tartare, but they know the risks associated with it. To the extent that they won't order pretty much everywhere that offers it, because they know the kitchen not only can't guarantee its safety, but that they're probably not even too concerned about it.

I was talking to a chef a while back. Supposedly there's a restaurant in Cork that does private steak tartare nights. It's only known about to a small group of people, and you need to get on the list to get an invite. It only happens when the conditions are right, when the chef wants to do it, when they can guarantee the quality of the meat and the stringent requirements needed for the kitchen.

It's the same with some of the raw milk cheeses that are pretty much banned. The people who are really into them, know what they need and what to expect from a supplier. They do their homework when they buy. But when it becomes fashionable a lot of people are buying without having the knowledge to make an informed decision.

Elliott S

In the lead up to Son Of A Bun's opening, they made a huge thing about the fact that they would be serving pink burgers. Huge! This was their thing. So, IMO, this may be quite damaging for them. There is now doubt in people's mind about their main draw possibly making people ill.

ROY RACE

I wont be back anyway and neither will the majority of Cork over this .

Water John

Test50, the point is Ecoli 157 comes from animal faecal matter coming into contact with meat or water.
Anything can carry it. Its unlikely salad comes into contact unless a few bullocks break into a field of lettuce.
Lettuce leaves are usually washed in a strong chlorine solution by the supplier.

SOAB were gilding the lily in saying they had a licience for this. It bit them in the arse. Hope lesson is learned and wish them well in their business.

Elliott S

Having said what I said in a previous post, in my hometown there was a cafe there a few years back that I really liked. They were given a indefinite closure order because they had too many things on the menu for the size of their kitchen. I hoped they'd reopen with a streamlined menu but they didn't bother and sold the business. I would have happily gone back there had they remedied the problems, as I could see they weren't wilfully jeopardising hygiene, they just didn't have a big enough kitchen to separate all the components of the various meals safely. So this won't necessarily put people off if the restaurant can assure patrons that the problem is being dealt with.

Deub

I was happy to find a place that served pink burgers in Cork. I grew up in France and I have eaten pink burgers all my life. I never got sick but I think the rules for mince meat is different.
It is not easy to find mince meat pack in supermarket. If you want mince meat you have to ask the butcher and he will do it in front of you.
I will go back to SOAB to see if the taste of burgers changed.

gctest50

Water John wrote: »

Test50, the point is Ecoli 157 comes from animal faecal matter coming into contact with meat or water.
Anything can carry it. Its unlikely salad comes into contact unless a few bullocks break into a field of lettuce.
Lettuce leaves are usually washed in a strong chlorine solution by the supplier.

SOAB were gilding the lily in saying they had a licience for this. It bit them in the arse. Hope lesson is learned and wish them well in their business.

them bullocks, can't be up to them

To date, 109 cases (figure correct as at 4 July 2016) of this strain of E. coli have been identified (102 in England, 6 in Wales and 1 in Scotland) with the South West of England particularly affected. PHE has been working to establish the cause of the outbreak and has now identified that several of the affected individuals ate mixed salad leaves including rocket leaves prior to becoming unwell.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/update-as-e-coli-o157-investigation-continues

pwurple

ROY RACE wrote: »

I wont be back anyway and neither will the majority of Cork over this .

Don't speak for me.

Deaf student

I was surprised to see Son of a Bun closed (cos it was opened not long ago) when i saw a notice on their door.

Went there just once with a friend at drop of a hat as it was very busy that time. Burgers were grand and prices were reasonable. Just thought Burger Gourmet resturant was much better than this in respect to quality.

Curiously, they said it was changes and renovation going on inside etc with no mention of food problem nor was FSAI inspection. So it didn't enter my mind until it was published later in examiner paper.

So they were economical with the truth. So it gave me second thoughts of going there again.

H8GHOTI

bladebrew wrote: »

Their new burger of the month is called The Well Done:D:D:D

That is genius!

I will still go back, I would never touch any meat that was Pink though, I was wondering how they were allowed serve Pink burgers, turns out they were not really allowed!?

In fairness that is good. Very clever.

I know their big thing was pink burgers but I wonder how many were asking for well done anyway?

MrMac84

MrMac84 wrote: »

I've never eaten there but will never eat there after this. This isn't hearsay or Chinese whispers. This was under cooked food served causing people to get sick. In my opinion (and I hope I'm wrong as Cork needs as many busy outlets as possible) the place will never recover from this. I don't think I'll be the only one turned off. On the good side tho GavRedKing and others who aren't should have no issues getting a table

But it is safe!! :rolleyes:

ROY RACE

pwurple wrote: »

Don't speak for me.

I said the majority not everyone -Are you still angry ya mad thing :P

the beer revolu

ROY RACE wrote: »

I said the majority not everyone -Are you still angry ya mad thing :P

You speak for the majority?

Nonoperational

I still think it's kind of gas. The place made a point of selling a product that is well known to be a risky way of eating meat. They were the common denominator in 8 cases of a serious food poisoning outbreak, the premises were so poor that they were closed immediately, and staff members had bacteria usually found in faecal matter on their hands. They now have to serve all their meat well done which is the exact opposite of what they advertised before this.

Like best of luck to them, but it was quite a big deal and extremely poor from them to put themselves in this position in the first place. It could have very easily been a lot more serious too. They have to go a bit for me to be patting them on the back and rushing back in.