Seattle & King County Public Health is investigating an outbreak of Salmonella illnesses among residents of Mary Pilgrim Inn, which is an emergency temporary housing shelter. As of Jan. 3, 14 people had tested positive for Salmonella infections.
Five of the patients have been hospitalized. Many of the sick people became ill after eating food served at two Christmas dinners on Dec. 25, 2024, or leftovers from those dinners on Dec.
26, 2024, according to an announcement from the public health department. The food served at the events was only available for Mary Pilgrim Inn residents and staff and not open to the public. Since Dec.
30, 2024, at least 14 people who attended the Mary Pilgrim Inn Christmas dinners have tested positive for Salmonella. On Dec. 31 public health officials visited Mary Pilgrim Inn to speak with staff members about the preparation of food served at the Christmas dinners and provide suggestions on how they can improve food safety in the kitchen.
“We are still learning more about how Salmonella may have made people sick at Mary Pilgrim Inn,” the public health department announcement stated. “More sick people are currently being tested but we do not have the results yet.” (To sign up for a free subscription to Food Safety News, click here).
