It's unlikely anyone will ever know exactly how Eckstrom or others got the virus at Hoggsbreath. When a cook or server fails to properly wash hands after using the bathroom, even a microscopic amount of fecal matter can spread bacteria or viruses to food, plates, silverware, co-workers or customers. It happens more than you might realize. I notice it in public restrooms. Ill or infected food workers figured in one of every three outbreaks in Minnesota from 1989 to 1998, according to a Pioneer Press analysis of 200 confirmed outbreaks.
Viral infections are the leading cause of outbreaks in Minnesota.
An employee who made the sandwiches had a child ill with diarrhea the week before. In 1998, investigators concluded an infected food handler had contaminated the seafood bowtie salad, starting an outbreak of shigella bacteria among 30 people at Ciatti's Restaurant in Edina. Schmidt's son Jeffrey was hospitalized and settled a separate lawsuit. Sick workers should not even be in a restaurant. Some sick employees, like the cook at Hoggsbreath, are infectious before their symptoms appear.