WEST CONCORD, Mass. — Woods Hill Table has closed while local and state health officials investigate a cluster of Salmonella illnesses involving both customers and restaurant employees.
Ten people had been reported ill as of September 17, according to Concord Public Health Director Melanie Dineen. The restaurant closed September 16 after additional cases were identified during the investigation.
The investigation began September 8. Since then, health officials have been working to determine how the cases are connected and whether they came from a common source.
So far, officials have not identified a specific food or ingredient as the cause.
The investigation started September 8
According to a September 15 memo from Dineen to the Concord Board of Health, an initial inspection of Woods Hill Table found no priority violations.
At that point, officials did not believe there was an ongoing public health risk based on the information available.
More cases were identified through testing as the investigation continued. One person tested positive for Salmonella without showing symptoms, according to Dineen.
Dineen later advised the restaurant to temporarily close. Woods Hill Table agreed and shut down September 16. The restaurant had not reopened as of September 17.
Customers and employees are among the 10 cases
The reported cases include people who worked at Woods Hill Table as well as customers who had visited the restaurant.
State epidemiologists contacted affected patrons individually, Dineen said. She also said there was no ongoing risk to the general public as of September 17.
No hospitalizations had been reported in connection with the cluster at that time.
Employees must receive two negative test results before returning to work.
That requirement is part of the health department’s response as officials work to determine whether employees are still carrying Salmonella.
Woods Hill Table says it is cooperating
Woods Hill owner Kristin Canty told The Concord Bridge that the restaurant takes food-safety protocols seriously and is cooperating with state authorities.
Dineen also praised the restaurant’s response, saying management was taking the appropriate steps during the investigation.
Health officials have not publicly said that a particular dish or ingredient at Woods Hill Table caused the illnesses.
Salmonella can spread through contaminated food, but it can also spread from person to person. Investigators are still working to determine how the cases are connected.
What investigators still don’t know
Several important details have not been made public.
Officials have not identified the specific food responsible for the illnesses. Later reporting about the investigation also noted that the Salmonella serotype had not been publicly released.
It also has not been publicly established which dates the affected people became sick or ate at the restaurant, whether customers or employees became ill first, or what the results of environmental and food sampling showed.
Those details could help investigators determine whether the illnesses came from a common source.
For now, Concord officials have described the incident as most likely an isolated event, while noting that additional testing is needed to confirm that.
What Salmonella can do
Salmonella infections commonly cause diarrhea, stomach cramps, fever, nausea and vomiting.
Some infections can become serious enough to require hospitalization. Dineen said she had not heard of anyone being hospitalized in connection with the Woods Hill Table cases as of September 17.
One person in the investigation also tested positive without showing symptoms, according to Dineen. Restaurant employees must receive two negative test results before returning to work.
Woods Hill Table’s closure
Woods Hill Table is a farm-to-table restaurant on Commonwealth Avenue in West Concord. It opened in 2015 and is owned by Kristin Canty.
The restaurant closed September 16 after the health department advised it to shut down while the investigation continued. It had not reopened as of September 17.
Officials have not publicly identified a particular food or ingredient as the source of the illnesses. They also said additional testing was needed to determine whether the cluster was isolated.
As of September 17, 10 people had been reported ill, including customers and employees. No hospitalizations had been reported, and health officials said there was no ongoing risk to the general public at that time.
The investigation remains ongoing.
