Printable View
If both you and your husband suspected you had a mild case of food poisioning from a restaurant you ate (you both ate the same thing and were fairly sure it was from the restaurant in question) would you complain to the restaurant or would you put it down to a bad experience and let it go?
Unless I knew it was definately food poisoning, and from there, I would let it go..
Depends on the restaurant. If it was a cheapie family type restaurant I'd just never go back, but I'd probably complain if it's a decent or regular place.
Updated first post with further information :)
In the absence of a pathology report that stated it was related to bacteria I'd probably leave it.
How familiar are you with the cuisine at the restaurant? Sometimes our bodies can have a bit of a reaction to new ingredients etc that isn't related to microbes but mimics the symptoms of food poisoning. That's why the 'old wives' say you should eat a hot curry to get things moving when you want to go into labour. Really it can only have a 'stimulating' effect if hot curry isn't part of your regular diet.
You could call and speak to the manager. Be sure of everything you ate thier and be calm. Say you ate thier and within a short time frame became rather ill and you suspect it came from there. And while you aren't pursuing other avenues you felt it was in the best intrest of them you inform them. Also let them know that due to becoming I'll it put a downer on your special evening. You never know what can happen
The problem with food poisoining is that everyone always thinks it was the last thing they ate, which is not always true. Some bugs can take three days to incubate and cause symptoms. Unless you are absolutely 100% sure it was from there, I would leave it.
Same as DMB...:
Personally, even with what you have since added since my last post, I would leave it..
I have a sensative stomach, so it doesn't take much at all to set something off.. I also think the damage that the accusation could do to a restaraunt unless you had iron-clad evidence, is unfair..
But if you really believe that you may have got food poisoning from there, maybe call and advise a manager. they would probably appreciate a genuine call, but they may seem unreceptive as there are many people who will blame a foodplace before considering anything else..
I don't see the harm in letting management know. It's not dobbing them in to anyone. If it turns out they had several complaints then they can (and should) do something about it.
I was going to say this too. Letting them know politely and letting them:
Use that information as they see fit could be good for them, ESP if others contact them.
I'd let them know. So they can reiterate to their staff the importance of cleanliness and safe food practices.
I got food poisoning (yes definately from there) from a well known mexican chain. Rang them up to tell them and they offered me a free meal. I haven't eaten mexican since. Can't even think about it without feeling sick. I would like to think, though, that it made them think and make sure they were following procedures properly.
Given how serious food poisoning can be, yes I would say something. If there is nothing to worry about nothing will be done. It's not unless there are multiple reports or an inspection that shows something that anything would be done anyway. What's mild food poisoning to an adult can be deadly to a child or the elderly, let alone immune suppressed.
Its the food industry. There is a reason food safety rules are so strict. So don't feel bad for wanting to make a complaint.
This actually happened to me - I got Salmonella poisoning and was horribly ill for over a week. The only thing more painful for me was childbirth, and that's by a small amount.
I knew it was from the restaurant as the only other foods I had eaten that day were the regular toast with avocado and then pasta with pesto for lunch (made at home) - also the food I had eaten at the restaurant came out completely undigested 5 hours later which the doctor told me was because the poison stops the stomach from digesting food
I'm pretty certain the egg souffle was the culprit - the guest chef himself had been complaining that night that the restaurant kitchen roof had a leak and was dripping all over the place.
We called the place and let them know what happened, just in case other's had also gotten sick. We weren't malicious or accusing in any way, we just let them know in case other eggs etc might be contaminated too.
The day after the restaurant owner called us back and threatened us, called us liars etc.
Needless to say we will never go back there, but in the future I would probably not bother calling them, food poisoning is a risk you take when you eat out and more than likely the restaurant will deny that they were the cause.
If you don't want to speak to the restaurant directly you can always call your state's food authority. In NSW it's the NSW Food Authority, but a quick google would reveal who you need to contact if you aren't in NSW.