Food Illness Reporting

The CDC estimates that 48 million people get sick from a foodborne illness annually within the United States. To learn more about foodborne illness symptoms, causes, and prevention, visit our Food Illness Prevention and Resources page. 

To help keep our community safe, please report any illness that you think may be related to a Snohomish County public food or water source such as a restaurant, grocery store, public or catered event, or campsite.

Click on the links below to go directly to those topics:


REPORT A FOODBORNE ILLNESS

If you suspect you’ve gotten sick after eating food in Snohomish County, please:

Washington State Foodborne Illness Notification System Logo

If your symptoms are serious or severe, contact your healthcare provider or seek medical attention first. If you have any questions about reporting or other foodborne illness topics, please email the Food Safety Program.

We review illness reports Monday-Friday, 8:30am-4:30pm, except on legal holidays. You should receive a phone call or email response from our Food Safety Program within 1-2 business days from report submittal so we can get more details about what you ate and the symptoms you experienced. Illness reports submitted through FINS may or may not receive a follow up call or email from the food program.

Please have the following information available for when we return your call, or when you are ready to submit your report online:

  • A man talking on a cell phoneName and location of food establishment or business (e.g. restaurant, grocery store, temporary event, caterer, etc.)
  • Date and time of meal
  • Symptoms of illness, and when they occurred, for all ill persons
  • Foods and beverages consumed by everyone that attended the meal
  • 3-day food history

Knowing the illness symptoms and when they occurred are critical to being able to determine the cause of the illness. In addition, knowing what and where you ate for the 3 days before you became ill will help us determine the cause of the illness. There is a common misconception that the last food item that you ate made you sick. While this can be true, most bacteria and viruses require longer incubation periods. It may help to write down when your symptoms occurred and your 3-day food history so you don't forget.

All identifying information will be kept confidential. Your answers will help us determine if food served at the establishment is responsible for illness. If necessary, we take further steps to prevent other people from becoming sick. 

Additional Resources

To report concerns with commercially packaged food products, call the FDA Food and Cosmetic Information Center at 1-888-SAFEFOOD (1-888-723-3366) or submit an online report. More information can be found here.

To report concerns with meat, poultry, or raw produce products, call the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-888-674-6854 or submit an online report.


Operator Food Worker illness reporting 

Operators (PIC / Manager / Owner) of food establishments must notify the Snohomish County Health Department if a food worker has jaundice, or a diagnosed illness that can be transmitted to other people through food. This may include but is not limited to: 

  • Norovirus
  • Hepatitis A virus
  • Salmonella bacteria
  • Shiga-toxin producing E. coli (STEC) bacteria
  • Campylobacter bacteria

If you need to report employee illness to the Health Department or have questions, please email the Food Safety Program. 

All food employees with vomiting or diarrhea (loose stool) should be excluded from work until they are at least 24-hours free of symptoms, or 48-hours free of symptoms for suspected or diagnosed norovirus. 

For more information on food employee health policies and what to expect if an employee is diagnosed, i.e. tests positive for a notifiable illness, visit our Food Illness Prevention and Resources page.