Gastrointestinal Illness associated with Fuji Sushi in Seattle

Summary

Public Health is investigating an outbreak of gastrointestinal illness (stomach illness) associated with Fuji Sushi in Seattle.

We did not find a specific food or drink item that might have caused the illness.

Illnesses

Since September 19, 2024, five people let us know they became sick after eating food at Fuji Sushi on September 16, 2024. All five people had one or more signs consistent with a bacterial infection, including feeling sick, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain, and chills, but other causes cannot be ruled out.

We did not identify any sick restaurant workers.

Public Health Actions

We were able to talk to the five sick people who ate together at Fuji Sushi on September 16, 2024, to try and learn how they got sick. In the seven days before becoming sick, the only time all five of them were together was when they ate at Fuji Sushi.

On September 25, 2024, we visited Fuji Sushi. We found many unsafe food safety practices including restaurant staff not washing their hands properly and not wearing gloves when touching different food items. We also found the restaurant prepared food items in a way that allowed for ready-to-eat foods to be contaminated by raw foods. Because of the many unsafe food safety practices seen at the restaurant, we closed Fuji Sushi immediately and they will not reopen until we revisit the restaurant to make sure they have fixed these problems.

We also told the restaurant they need to make sure any restaurant workers with signs of stomach illness wait at least 24 hours after the signs stop before they can return to work.

Laboratory testing

Early test results have not identified what made the five people sick.