A Redwood City restaurant linked to the worst outbreak of food-borne illness in San Mateo County history is back in business this morning, more than one month after county health officials shut it down.
Owners Martin and Isabel Toro unlocked the doors to Viva Mexico at 11 a.m. today under scrutiny from health inspectors and a wary public.
The Middlefield Road restaurant was closed by the county on Oct. 24 after numerous patrons complained of food poisoning. More than 200 people reported becoming ill from eating at the establishment. One woman, 53-year-old Constance Williams-Pennel of Sunnyvale, died from complications arising from her illness.
Health officials eventually determined that shigellosis, a gastrointestinal infection by the bacteria shigella, was responsible for the incident.
Inspectors found numerous health and safety code violations in the restaurant, including improperly thawed, cooked and stored food, reused salsa at tables and lack of sanitizer in the kitchen and soap in restrooms.
Despite several theories on how the bacteria entered the restaurant - including an employee's unwashed hands, tainted vegetables or the reused salsa - the source of the outbreak will likely never be determined, according to Dean Peterson, director of the county's environmental health services.
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