Serious Public Health Issue - Sunny Isle Shopping Center
I stopped by the golden arches at Sunny Isle Shopping Center for a burger and saw a notice on the glass door as I entered yesterday at about 4:30pm.
It stated (on a crudely photocopied, faded paper similar to a VI Drivers Licence application) that the Sunny Isle Shopping Center had been found by the Health Department to have had FECAL COLIFORMS well above the permitted limits in the drinking water produced by thier in-house water purification system. It went on to state that the higher than allowed results had been found on more than one occasion dating back to January 2013.
I didn't think much of it as I munched on my Big Mac Meal and slurped my soft drink which contained ICE made with WATER from the IN-HOUSE PURIFICATION SYSTEM.
Did I have a case of diarrhea this morning? Oh yes...I surely did and it wasn't pretty either.
WARNING: Don't drink the WATER or have ICE in your drinks at golden arches, the theater or any food service establishment at Sunny Isle Shopping Center. Taking it one step further, don't eat at the Sunny Isle Shopping Center at all since all cooking utensils and equipment whould have been washed with contaminated water.
We all know how lax enforcement of anything is here in the VI (except using a cell phone while driving), but public health should not be overlooked.
I DO NOT BELIEVE THAT THEY HAVE FIXED THE PROBLEM.
Neither should a dead horse.
I don't get the dead horse reference...please expand.
the dead horse should not be overlooked
I don't think that water is much worse than what's in the soft drinks or McDonalds food tbh.
Also, not only is your ice made from that, but your soda is about 95% tap water.
Neither should a dead horse.
*-) you sure know how to beat a dead horse....smh
How it works is this. Every "public drinking water facility" which includes schools, restaurants, resorts, etc. is tested monthly by a certified water testing lab. This is a Federal mandate. If a test result even minimally fails, the water testing lab immediately calls to advise and the lab personnel come out the following day to retest. In 16 years of running a restaurant this happened to me twice, I duly re-treated the water and the results the following day were fine. I could relate a hilarious tale about DPNR/EPA (two or three actually) on the subject but all I wanted to do was simply allay your fears. If the test results were so bad that a health issue was involved, the establishment would be closed down immediately but these borderline results are no cause for alarm - but the law demands that a notice be put on the door anyway.
Gross as it is, I'm guessing (just guessing... please correct me if you have more concrete info) that the federal limits on things like bacteria in water are MUCH lower than what you'd actually need to cause illness in the general population. In other words, using arbitrary numbers, if the number required to cause illness is 1000, the government might draw the line at 10 in order to be extra cautious, and a notice goes on the door when a place hits 11. It's still disgusting, and these regulations should still be respected, but I don't think it's quite as much of a public health issue as it may appear to be. As OldTart noted, if it were really that awful, the place would be immediately shut down.
Also, we should all consider our own cistern, kitchen, etc. I suspect that many of us would not pass an inspection. I'm not saying that gives restaurants the right to be gross... just food for thought.
Yea the food is as bad as the poop in the water! Sorry I just can't do mcds. Shudder when I think about the stuff they put in their food. I DO like their coffee... I guess poop and all. 😀 HAHAHAH. Sorry tired and silly. :Z
Gross as it is, I'm guessing (just guessing... please correct me if you have more concrete info) that the federal limits on things like bacteria in water are MUCH lower than what you'd actually need to cause illness in the general population. In other words, using arbitrary numbers, if the number required to cause illness is 1000, the government might draw the line at 10 in order to be extra cautious, and a notice goes on the door when a place hits 11. It's still disgusting, and these regulations should still be respected, but I don't think it's quite as much of a public health issue as it may appear to be. As OldTart noted, if it were really that awful, the place would be immediately shut down.
Also, we should all consider our own cistern, kitchen, etc. I suspect that many of us would not pass an inspection. I'm not saying that gives restaurants the right to be gross... just food for thought.
Nothing gross about it and "fecal coliform" sounds much worse than it really is! Water testing is mandated in all US jurisdictions (and throughout much of the world) but is something that the majority doesn't even think about. That is maybe until you come to the USVI and learn about it! Our sea/ocean waters are likewise regularly tested and the results published monthly. Wiki provides a good summation of the subject if anyone's interested:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fecal_coliform
Funny, I read the same Wiki article right after I posted. Doesn't even have to come from fecal matter.
And AandA2VI, I have to agree... eating that stuff (from just about any fast food restaurant... not trying to single out McDonald's!) does more harm to one's body than a few bacteria. I recently read "The China Study" and watched "Forks Over Knives," and they are fascinating. They're not just anti-fast food, but anti most of the Western diet.
Funny, I read the same Wiki article right after I posted. Doesn't even have to come from fecal matter.
And AandA2VI, I have to agree... eating that stuff (from just about any fast food restaurant... not trying to single out McDonald's!) does more harm to one's body than a few bacteria. I recently read "The China Study" and watched "Forks Over Knives," and they are fascinating. They're not just anti-fast food, but anti most of the Western diet.
I didn't catch The China Study, but FoK should be mandatory viewing.
I will ocasionally get a cheese burger from McD's, and I regret it twenty minutes after I get back to my desk.
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