cochransinco
May 12th, 2003, 8:11pm
Lizard Head Found In Applebee's Salad
A customer of Applebee's Neighborhood Grill and Bar in Coralville, Iowa got the shock of a lifetime in a carry-out Santa Fe Chicken Salad: A lizard head that was more than an inch long was nestled in the lettuce leaves. The Associated Press reports that Applebee's quickly had the lizard head tested for salmonella, a bacteria that causes food poisoning; test results proved negative. Officials said the restaurant has switched to pre-cut, pre-cleaned lettuce for its salads.
John Hellstein, a University of Iowa professor of dentistry, filed the complaint with the Johnson County Public Health Department after his wife (who does not want to be identified) discovered the lizard head in the salad she ordered for lunch, reports AP. "Obviously, she was upset," Hellstein said. "I don't expect she will be eating Santa Fe salads anytime soon."
Apple Corp. LP, the owner of the Applebee's restaurant, apologized for the incident and said it was an isolated event. The Iowa City Press-Citizen printed the apology: "Based on our initial investigation, we believe that somehow a small 'fence lizard' managed to deeply imbed itself in a head of lettuce delivered to our restaurant from California. The associate who prepared the lettuce did not notice this highly unusual situation. We regret this and apologize to the affected guests." Kot Flora, an assistant director at the Johnson County Public Health Department, told AP, "We think this was just an unfortunate fluke." Even Hellstein agrees with that assessment. "I worked in produce for seven years, and I've seen lots of things crawl out of lots of things." The family is not pursuing legal action.
:munch: :eek2: :eek:
suddenly salad doesn't sound so good for dinner~ :eek:
A customer of Applebee's Neighborhood Grill and Bar in Coralville, Iowa got the shock of a lifetime in a carry-out Santa Fe Chicken Salad: A lizard head that was more than an inch long was nestled in the lettuce leaves. The Associated Press reports that Applebee's quickly had the lizard head tested for salmonella, a bacteria that causes food poisoning; test results proved negative. Officials said the restaurant has switched to pre-cut, pre-cleaned lettuce for its salads.
John Hellstein, a University of Iowa professor of dentistry, filed the complaint with the Johnson County Public Health Department after his wife (who does not want to be identified) discovered the lizard head in the salad she ordered for lunch, reports AP. "Obviously, she was upset," Hellstein said. "I don't expect she will be eating Santa Fe salads anytime soon."
Apple Corp. LP, the owner of the Applebee's restaurant, apologized for the incident and said it was an isolated event. The Iowa City Press-Citizen printed the apology: "Based on our initial investigation, we believe that somehow a small 'fence lizard' managed to deeply imbed itself in a head of lettuce delivered to our restaurant from California. The associate who prepared the lettuce did not notice this highly unusual situation. We regret this and apologize to the affected guests." Kot Flora, an assistant director at the Johnson County Public Health Department, told AP, "We think this was just an unfortunate fluke." Even Hellstein agrees with that assessment. "I worked in produce for seven years, and I've seen lots of things crawl out of lots of things." The family is not pursuing legal action.
:munch: :eek2: :eek:
suddenly salad doesn't sound so good for dinner~ :eek: